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| Wednesday, 24 July 2002 |
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by Swami Vigyananand and Patrick Harrigan
Historically Thevayani Amman (Sanskrit: Devayani) and her traditions hail from North India where they are associated with Hindu monks of the Dasanami Order founded by Adi Sankaracharya in the 8th Century AD. Myth and history combine to explain how Thevayani Amman came from North India to Kataragama to recover her wayward husband Lord Murugan. Centuries ago, it wasbelieved, that Kataragama God's senior spouse Thevayani Amman prompted Kalyana Giri Swami to leave North India and go South to find her missing husband and bring him home. The sage is said to have found Lord Murugan in Kataragama, Kalyana Giri Swami requested Lord Murugan to accompany him to India, but Valli Amma intervened and begged Kalyana Giri Swami not to take her husband away. Kalyana Giri Swami never returned to India but remained and requested Thevayani Amman to come and settle in Kataragama too. Thevayani Amman came and since that time all three deities live happily together in Kataragama. Succession
Kalyana Giri Swami then founded Thevayani Amman Devasthanam. The North Indian Dasanami succession has continued unbroken to this day. Kalyana Giri Swami thus became the foundling abbot or mathadhipati of Kataragama Thevayani Amman Devasthanam. Since that time the succession of North Indian Dasanami mathadhipatis has administered the Matham and associated temples. Over the centuries, annually thousands of sadhus and saints from india used to walk from Jaffna to Kataragama and stay in the vicinity of Thevayani Amman Devasthanam. Nowadays, however, modern visa and passport restrictions have all but stopped this holy tradition linking peoples of the subcontinent. Yet, to this day, thousands of Sri Lankan pada yatra pilgrims and a handful of Indian sadhus and European pilgrims still continue to walk by the same coastal route. Pilgrims Thanks to the restoration of peaceful conditions throughout the island, this year pilgrims assembled and walked from Vattappali Kannaki Amman Temple in Mullaitivu District for the first time in decades. From 2003 the Pada Yatra pilgrims expect to resume walking from Jaffna peninsula again as per the ancient tradition. Thousands of pada yatra pilgrims of all ages, communities and walks of life join in this holy karai yatra or coastal pilgrimage. All are received with respect and served annadanam by villagers all along the route. The rituals performed at all the temples of Kataragama may be traced to the Adinath Sampradaya of the great Saiva sect temple at Gorakhpur established in North India by the great siddha master Gorakhnath. Arathi puja and the tying of the mouth shut are a few examples of Kataragama traditions hailing from North India.
This ancient institution also has had modern legal recognition thanks to Sri Maharaja Kesopuri Swami. Better known as Pal Kudi Baba, the great yogi saint founded the Thevayani Amman Temple Trust shortly before his samadhi in 1898. He exclusively specified in his trust deed that only Dasanami sannyasi parampara shishya of Bhagavan Dattatreya may be appointed as Mathadhipati and Trustee. The samadhis of these great saints may be visited behind the Guru Asanam. After the departure of the former mathadhipati Dattarama Giri Swami, devotees felt the absence of a mathadhipati and trustee began to clamour for fresh appointment. His Holiness Jagatguru Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Sri Jayendra Saraswati Mahaswamigal personally appointed a highly qualified North Indian Dasanami sannyasi, Purnanand Giri Swami (49) at Trustee and mathadhipati along with a junior associate of the same lineage to assist in the smooth operation of the Devasthanam, thereby preserving the Dasanami succession of administrators. Mathadhipati The resonant voice of the gifted and vigorous new mathadhipati now fills the kovils and matham once again to the delight of Tamil and Sinhala devotees, despite the fact that he is fully conversant in Hindi, Sanskrit and English only. Among recent changes to the infrastructure of the institution, notable are the complete renovation and refitting of the annadanam hall with a sturdy new roof, ceiling fans and sanitary floor tiles. Devotees note that sanitary standards as well as the quality of food and service have improved substantially in the past two years. Moreover, the devotees now feel more welcome and well cared for thanks to institutional changes initiated by the new Mathadhipati Purnanand Giri Swami. Annadanam for the devotees is served in the traditional fashion of Tamil Hindus with devotees seated on the tile floor taking meals from plantain leaves. Annadanam is also served to devotees daily year round and to the public every Friday outside of the festival season. During the festival season, thousands of devotees and public receive annadanam regardless of community, wealth or social status. Tube well The Devasthanam has also been taking all necessary measures to save precious water and firewood. To alleviate the frequent shortages of drinking water and to maintain sanitation. in 2002 a deep tube well was drilled within the compound. To save firewood, the Mathadhipati introduced traditional North Indian technology of fuel-saving underground stoves for the quick and efficient preparation of large quantities of cooked food. Not only Tamil Hindus alone but devotees of all communities, rich and poor alike, come in droves to avail themselves of the matham's tasty vegetarian meals, including wealthy urban devotees, pada yatra pilgrims, mothers with children, swamis, sadhus, fakirs and service personnel of the security forces. Sacred setting Over the centuries, many great souls like Kriya Yoga Babaji and Palkudi Baba have been associated with the sacred setting of Theyvani Amman Temple. The Temple Trust has recently consecrated a shrine built upon the site where the master siddha Kriya Yoga Babaji - well known as Maha Avatar kriya Babaji -sat in meditation under a great banyan tree many centuries ago as directed by his guru Bhogar Siddhar. The historic tradition of Flag-Hoisting Ceremony at Kataragama Theyvani Amman Temple takes place on the sixth day of the Esala (Adi) festival. The Mathadhipati and Trustee Purnanad Giri Swami conducts this ritual precisely according to scriptural injunction in which the saffron flag is first sanctified and then hoisted with full honours as a special occasion for Hindus to celebrate their role in the festival. On the same day Purnanand Giri Swami also conducts a flag-hoisting ceremony at the Muttulinga Ishwara (Siva) Temple. Ambal Darshan Another important and joyous occasion is the annual Ambal Darshan of the Devasthanam's presiding deity Sri Theyvani Amman with her associated rituals. Once only in a year, Devi gives darshan, so her devotees attach great importance to this event, which also coincides with the Maha Perahera of Lord Kathirkama Kanthan. All long Devi gives darshan and blesses Her devotees. As an ongoing tradition of Theyvani Amman Devasthanam, annually annadanam is prepared and offered twice daily on a mass scale for thousands of pilgrims, devotees and duty personnel of all communities during the Adi festival. This occasion is an exceptional opportunity to serve Lord Murugan, Valli, Theyvani Amman and their devotees throughout the festival. Alms In the future also, with the support of earnest devotees, the Matham intends to uphold its ancient tradition of annadanam served here at Theyvani Amman Devasthanam in devotional service to Lord Murugan and His devotees. Recently Purnanand Giri Swami renovated the old Konkattiya Matham in the jungle near Buttala where the pada yatra pilgrims used to halt. Similarly, much more work yet remains to be done under the leadership of Mathadhipati and Trustee Purnanand Giri Swami. The Hindu community is especially proud to see the ancient glory of Thevayani Amman Devasthanam being restored before their eyes in the 21st Century.
Kumari and Maurice to present 'Onna Olu Malak'
Kumari Silva is once again scheduled to enthral music lovers when she joins Maurice Dahanayake at his second bout of "Onna Olu Malak" to go on board at Galle Town Hall in the Sunday evening of July 26. Kumari Silva is a "B" Grade songstress in the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. She is a stalwart in the Moratuwa Artistes Ensemble, where she is better known as the "Geetha Kokilaviya". She holds membership in the National Arts Council. Endowed with innate musical talents, she is destined to carve out a niche for herself in the musical world as an inimitable vocalist. She has contributed her voice to several cassettes and compact discs. She sang at the popular vocalist Maurice Dahanayake's maiden musical show of "Onna Olu Malak" presented at Tower Hall, Maradana, on March 1, this year. There she entertained the audience by her two songs "Bo dey, probodey" and "Ran Gal Thalawa".
Sarath's Black and White legend A solo exhibition of S. H. Sarath was held from July 11 to 15 at the Alliance Francaise, Colombo. Cassandra like he tells me "I wonder if some unforeseen force is guiding my painting - I just have to draw what I see in these terrible times of ours, and worse it happens what I draw comes true too late... Speaking to me in Sinhala S. H. Sarath remains the simple unassuming man I once saw in the early 70s but now the grey is more pronounced and so is the glint in his eyes... and staring at me are paintings in black and white with a blank and sterile Sri Lanka with chaos and destruction. He shows me a painting titled 'Pirisudu Hinganno' or 'Clean Beggars' - explains even the well-off people have been reduced to beggary owing to the high cost of living. He had drawn that as early as the middle 90s... and tells me, "See it has already happened". Not one issue is left unrepresented. Poverty, racism, political victimisation pushes through S. H. Sarath's famous line drawings with an almost bursting need to dig and stir up the lethargic public. - Hansinee Andree |
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