Mangaladevi
Temple
The Mangaladevi Temple is a Hindu temple at Bolara
in the city of Mangalore, situated about three km southwest of the city centre.
The temple is dedicated to Hindu god Shakti in the form of Mangaladevi. The
city of Mangalore is named after the presiding deity, Mangaladevi.
The temple is of significant antiquity and is
believed to have been built during the 9th century by Kundavarman, the most
famous king of the Alupa dynasty during the 9th century under the aegies of
Matsyendranath.
Etymology
Mangalore was named after the Hindu deity
Mangaladevi, the presiding deity of the temple. According to local legend, a
princess from Malabar named Parimala or Premaladevi renounced her kingdom and
became a disciple of Matsyendranath, the founder of the Nath tradition. Having
converted Premaladevi to the Nath sect, Matsyendranath renamed her Mangaladevi.
She arrived in the area with Matsyendranath, but had to settle near Bolar in
Mangalore as she fell ill on the way. Eventually she died, and the Mangaladevi
temple was consecrated in her honour at Bolar by the local people after her
death. The city got its name from the temple.
Legends
The temple dates back to the ninth century when
Kundavarman, the most famous king of the Alupa dynasty, was ruling Tulu Nadu.
During this period, there were two holy saints of the Nath cult, Machindranath
and Gorakhnath, who came from Nepal. They reached Mangalore, crossing the river
Nethravathi. The place where they crossed the river came to be known as
Gorakdandi. They chose a place near the banks of the Netravathi which was once
the centre of activities of the sage Kapila. The ruling king met the two
saints. Pleased with the humility and virtues of the king, they informed him
that his kingdom needed to be sanctified with a temple for Mangaladevi. From
their own mother he heard the story of Vihasini and Andasura, Parashurama and
the temple built by them. The two saints took the king to the sites where all
these historical events had taken place. They asked the king to dig the place
and relieve the lingam and the dharapatra symbolising Mangaladevi and
install them in a shrine along with Nagaraja for providing protection.
Kundavarman built grand shrine to Mangaladevi. The hermits of Kadri Yogirajmutt
visit Mangaladevi temple on the first days of Kadri temple festival and offer
prayer and silk clothes.
Another legend says, the temple is believed to have
been built by Parashurama, one of the ten avatars of Hindu god Vishnu. During
the passage of time, the temple was covered by vegetation and was restored by
Kundavarma of Alupa dynasty during the 9th century. There are also views that
the temple was built by Ballal family of Attavar to commemorate a Malabar
Princess.
The
Temple
The temple has a two storeyed gopura or a gateway
tower, with the upper storey having wooden trails covering a hall of drum
beating during festivals. A rectangular wall around the temple, piereced by the
gateways, encloses all the shrines of the temple. The metal plated flagpost or
Dwajasthamba is located axial to the temple tower leading to the central
sanctum. The central shrine called Garbhagudi houses the image of the
presiding deity. It is on an elevated platform with a single door reached
through a flight of five steps. Either sides of the doors have images of
guardian deities called Dwarapalakas.
Festivals
Navaratri (Dussera) is the time for special pujas performed on all nine days. On the seventh day, Goddess Mangaladevi is worshipped as Chandika (or Marikamaba), on the eighth day the goddess is worshipped as Maha Saraswathi. On the ninth day which is also known as Mahanavami the goddess is worshipped as Vagdevi, goddess for speech, Aayudha puja is performed. All weapons and tools are worshipped, as the day marks the slaying of the cruel demons by the goddess Durga, and Chandika yaaga are also performed on this day. A large number of devotees participate in the Rathothsava on the tenth day, which is celebrated as Dasara. The decorated goddess is mounted on the grand chariot and pulled with thick ropes in a procession that goes to Marnaumikatte, where the goddess and the Shami tree are worshipped.