Do you know any pilgrimage centre where you can take bath in a holy river, perform pradakshina (circumambulation) of a mountain and have the darshan of a deity? very few places can boast of such a combination. I am proud to say that my native place Thiruvilwamala is one such pilgrimage centre.
This village is situated in Thalappilli taluka of Thrissur district bordering Palakkad district.
People may mistake Mala in the name of the village to mean a mountain. However, it is a combination of the words vilwa and aamala.
On the banks of the Nila River, there are two mountains Bhootamala and Vilwamala. Inside a cave of Vilwamala, there is Srivalwam which shines like gold and hence called Ponninvilwam. Consuming the vilwakkai is believed to remove greying and assure longevity of life. It is also believed that the great temple of Srivilwadrinatha is situated above this cave.
According to Vilwapurana, Lord Parasurama approached Paramasiva to find a way out to remove the sins of multiple murders. Siva gave him an idol of Narayana which he was worshipping and asked his disciple to install the idol in a proper place on the earth and worship the same. While searching for such a place, Parasurama found Vilwamala shining splendidly. Hence he thought that this is the right place. With the help of Sastha, he installed the idol atop the mountain.
Sri Amalaka Maharishi belonging to Kashyapa Gotra performed penance in the precincts of this temple. He ate only Amalaka (Amala) and was continuously chanting Tarakamantra (Rama-nama) sitting in the Saraswati kunda below the western nada. As he attained success in his penance and got the darshan of Lord Vishnu who was called Amalaka. He requested Lord Vishnu to remain in the village to bless the devotees in kali yuga. Hence the Lord appeared as swayambhu in the western nada in the same form as he appeared to Amalaka Maharishi. Since Lord Vishnu appeared after the chanting of Taraka Mantra, the deity is worshipped as Rama. Hence the other deity is treated as Lakshmana. Near the eastern gopura, Hanuman is installed with two more deities Ganapati and Kundil Ayyappa. There are five deities present in this temple Thiruvilwamala.
Bathe in the river in the northern side of the mountain. Before climbing the mountain, first touch the mountain and put your hand on your head as a mark of asking forgiveness. According to Vilwamangalam Swamiyar, the entire mountain is Anantha Maha Serpent. From whichever side you climb the mountain, first you have to worship the Hanuman deity. Then you reach the place where Lakshmana is installed. After worshipping him, one has to go to Ganapathi. After saluting him you reach the sanctum sanctorum of Sriv ilwadrinatha. After his worship through the western side, you go to the Bali stone, and perform its pradakshina. Then you have to come back to Vilwadrinatha and Lakshmana and take their leave; then get down and worship Kundil Ayyappa. Then perform the pradakshina of Aswatha tree. Then again get down to Saraswati kunda and meditate on Amalaka Maharishi after lifting the pebbles there. By doing this one gets the blessings of Saraswati.
Some of the great artists and instrumentalists who have attained name, fame, health, wealth and longevity through the blessings of Vilwadrinatha are Chendai Kondai, Ghatam Vilwadri and Maddalam Venkichan.
| Karkidakam | Illam Nira |
| Chingam | Truppoothari |
| Kanni | Niramala |
| Thulam | Vavu |
| Vrishchikam | Entering Punarjani |
| Kumbam | Ekadasi |
| Meenam | Ramanavami |
| Mandalam | Panchagavyam |
Due to the installation of Vilwadrinatha in the mountain, the free movement of Asura elements was curtailed. Hence, their leader Kumbhanasa tried to pluck out the idol and destroy the temple. Due to the cosmic power of Sri Vilwadrinatha, he was thrown away with a thud shaking the entire mountain. The place where he fell is called as Rakshasapara. The incident happened on the waning Ekadasi of Kumbha month. Hence the celebration of Thiruvilwamala Ekadasi.
On Guruvayur Ekadasi day, devotees pass through Punarjani cave, which is a very difficult journey. But this journey removes all miseries of life.
This is, in short, the story of Sri Vilwadrinatha. Lord Krishna came to this village along with the Pandavas to give oblations to the manes and installed various Sivalingams. The Sri Krishna temple at Ivar Madom, the Siva temple at Someswaram and the Sivalingams at Kothakkurrissi are proof of these incidents. Even today, the river from Ivar Madom to Kothakkurrissi is called Bharatapuzha and on its banks, oblations are given to the dead ancestors
Recently, a Pambinkavu and a temple for Sai Baba called as Dakshina Shirdi have also been built in this village.
There is also a Devi temple called Parrakottukavu. The festival Thalippilli celebrated in the Medom month with number of elephants is considered next only to Thrissur Pooram.
The former Kerala Chief Minister T K Nair and the litterateur Manasi belong to this village.
All said and done, the reason why I like Thiruvilwamala is of course the fact that I spent the first twenty years of my life in this great village along with my childhood friends.