Mookambika
Mookambika | |
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Affiliation | Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati |
Festivals | Navaratri |
Mookambika (
Legend
Once, an asura named Kamasura attempted to appease the deity Shiva 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, Kamasura was alarmed. In order to prevent this, the goddess Saraswati thwarted his speech at the request of the devas, causing him to be incapable of requesting a boon from Shiva. This made Kamasura (now named Mookasura, mooka meaning dumb) livid with rage. He defeated Indra and took over his kingdom, and subjected the three worlds to chaos. In order to restore the cosmic balance, the Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) called on their wives, the Tridevi (Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati) to create a form to defeat the asura. Their combined energies culminated into a goddess, 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
Another popular legend associated with Mookambika and Adi Shankara states that Adi Shankara wanted to build a temple for 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 Shanakra had performed austerities for her, the goddess agreed that she would be part of the
See also
References
- ^ "Goddess of all things". Deccan Herald. India. 29 September 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ "By God, it is the law". Bangalore Mirror. India. 22 December 2010. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ^ Manjunath.R (24 July 2020). GOD. Manjunath.R. p. 29.
- ^ Atmashraddhananda, Swami (1 February 2022). A Pilgrimage To Western Ghats Temples In Karnataka. Sri Ramakrishna Math. p. 49.