Mookambika (,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
: மூகாம்பிகை,
Kannada
Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
: ಮೂಕಾಂಬಿಕೆ,
Tulu ಅಪ್ಪೆ ಮೂಕಂಬಿಕೆ,
Telugu మూకాంబికా,
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
: മൂകമ്പിക ) is a
Hindu goddess, an aspect of
Adi Parashakti,
the supreme goddess of
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
. She is regarded to be the form of
shakti
Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...
, the divine feminine energy, that represents creativity and ingenuity. She is widely worshipped in the states of
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
-
Tulunadu
Tulu Nadu, or Tulunad, is a region and proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (pl. 'Tuluver') are speakers of Tulu, a Dravidian language, and are the predominant ethnic group of the region. Sou ...
,
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
and
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. Her most important abode is the
Mookambika Temple located in
Kollur village in
Udupi district
Udupi district (also Udipi () in Kannada or Odipu () in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara old north Malabar c ...
of
Tulunadu that is coastal
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
.
Legend
Once, an
asura
Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...
named Kaumasura attempted to appease the deity
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
through penance to become invincible. He had previously received a boon to be killed by only a woman, but because of the death of
Mahishasura
Mahishasura (, ) is a bovine asura in Hinduism. He is depicted in Hindu texts, Hindu literature as a deceitful demon who pursued his evil ways by shape-shifting. Mahishasura was the son of the asura Rambha (asura), Rambha and the brother of buf ...
, Kaumasura was alarmed. In order to prevent this, the goddess
Saraswati
Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...
thwarted his speech at the request of the
devas, causing him to be incapable of requesting a boon from Shiva. This made Kaumasura (now named Mookasura, ''mooka'' meaning dumb) livid with rage. He defeated
Indra
Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes
Indra is the m ...
took over his
kingdom, and subjected the
three worlds to chaos. In order to restore the cosmic balance, the
Trimurti
The Trimurti ( /t̪ɾimʊɾt̪iː/) is the triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities. Typically, the designations are that ...
(
Brahma
Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...
,
Vishnu
Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
, and
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
) called on their wives, the
Tridevi
The Tridevi are a Triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity in Hinduism, joining a Triad (religious), triad of eminent goddesses either as a feminine version of the Trimurti, or as consorts of a masculine Trimurti, depending on the d ...
(
Saraswati
Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...
,
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
, and
Parvati
Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...
) to create a form to defeat the asura. Their combined energies culminated into a
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...
, who rode on a lion and slew Mookasura, acquiring the name, Mookambika.
Veneration
According to popular tradition, during the period Mookambika had slain Kamasura, a sage from
Kollur performed penance to both the
Trimurti
The Trimurti ( /t̪ɾimʊɾt̪iː/) is the triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities. Typically, the designations are that ...
and
Tridevi
The Tridevi are a Triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity in Hinduism, joining a Triad (religious), triad of eminent goddesses either as a feminine version of the Trimurti, or as consorts of a masculine Trimurti, depending on the d ...
and requested for a ''
murti
In the Hinduism, Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' (, ) is a devotional image, such as a statue or icon, of a Hindu deities, deity or Hindu saints, saint used during ''Puja (Hinduism), puja'' and/or in other customary forms of actively expressing d ...
'' (idol) of all these deities to be established on the spot that he performed the penance. They granted this wish, and became a linga with a golden line, a ''rekha'', splitting in the middle, so that one side represented the
Trimurti
The Trimurti ( /t̪ɾimʊɾt̪iː/) is the triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities. Typically, the designations are that ...
and the other, the
Tridevi
The Tridevi are a Triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity in Hinduism, joining a Triad (religious), triad of eminent goddesses either as a feminine version of the Trimurti, or as consorts of a masculine Trimurti, depending on the d ...
. Over time,
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedanga, Vedic scholar, Hindu philosophy, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and h ...
is regarded to have found a ''vigraham'', or an idol, which replicated Mookambika, and established it behind the linga, to form the sanctum sanctorum of the
Mookambika temple, in Kollur, Karnataka. The goddess is venerated as Saraswati in the morning, Lakshmi at noon, and Parvati during the evening.
Another popular legend associated with Mookambika and Adi Shankara states that Adi Shankara wanted to build a temple for the goddess Saraswati in Kerala and thus performed penance to please the deity. Saraswati agreed to Adi Shankara's request, provided he led her to Kerala without looking back at her. He agreed to this condition but soon realized that the Goddess's anklets no longer jingled and so, curiosity overtook him, and he looked behind. Because he broke her condition, Saraswati stayed at the spot (Kollur) where he had turned. But because Adi Shankara had performed austerities for her, the goddess agreed that she would be part of the
Chottanikkara Temple
The Chottanikkara (correction of ''Jyotiannakkara'') Devi Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu mother goddess Bhagavati Lakshmi. She is believed to be residing in Chottanikkara ( Mahalakshmi) along with her Husband Maha Vishnu. The ...
in Kerala as well as in the
Mookambika temple. Thus, the doors of the
Chottanikkara Temple
The Chottanikkara (correction of ''Jyotiannakkara'') Devi Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu mother goddess Bhagavati Lakshmi. She is believed to be residing in Chottanikkara ( Mahalakshmi) along with her Husband Maha Vishnu. The ...
are opened right after those of the
Mookambika Temple. Now, the Mookambika devi mantra, Mahalakshmi Astakam Stotram Written by Lord
Indra
Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes
Indra is the m ...
.
See also
*
Kamala
*
Ishvari
*
Jaganmata
References
{{reflist
Hindu goddesses
War goddesses
Mother goddesses