Hey Praveen, tomorrow is mukkoti yekadashi..my mother said..oh what do I do now?i said. Don’t say that she said..then you have to wake up at 4amin the early morning she said. Ok I will try I said and slept.i woked up at 4am in the morning.my mom got ready and was waiting for me.i dressed up traditionally and we headed to the temple.calling as lord chennakesava temple, which was the ambitious temple in my hometown.it was a sanctum place, where we could visit the different incarnation of lord venkateswara.on this auspicious festival day,people would be celebrated like a ceremony.predominantly , all surrounding village peoples associated together in the ceremony
Vaikunta Ekadashi is the Shukla paksha Ekadashi that occurs during the dhanu month in the Hindu calendar (corresponding to late December - January in an English calendar).
The Vaishnava (Worship of Vishnu) sect believes that ‘Vaikunta Dwaram’ or ‘the gate to the Lord's Inner Sanctum’ is opened on this day. The Margashirsha Shukla Paksha Ekadashi in the Lunar calendar is known as a 'Mokshada Ekadashi.' Special prayers, yagnas, discourses, and speeches are arranged at Vishnu temples across the world on this auspicious day. The Shiva sect observes the day as Trikoti Ekadashi, a religious observance where all the deities in the Hindu pantheon pay obeisance to Lord Sri Shiva at once.
The significance of Vaikuntha Ekadashi is mentioned in the Padma Purana. The legend says that the Devas, unable to bear the tyranny of 'Muran' - a demon, approached Shiva, who directed them to Vishnu. A battle ensued between Vishnu and the demon and Vishnu realized that a new weapon was needed to slay Muran. In order to take rest and create a new weapon, Vishnu retired to a cave for the goddess named Hiamavati in Bhadrikashrama. When Muran tried to slay Vishnu, who was sleeping, the female power that emerged from Vishnu burned Muran to ashes with her glance. Vishnu, who was pleased, named the goddess 'Ekadashi' and asked her to claim a boon. Ekadashi, instead, beseeched Vishnu that people who observed a fast on that day should be redeemed from their sins. Vishnu thus declared that people who observed a fast on that day and worshipped Ekadashi would attain Vaikuntha. Thus came into being the first Ekadashi, which was a Dhanurmasa Shukla Paksha Ekadashi.
The demon Muran stands for the Rajasic and Tamasic qualities in people, attributed to lust, passion, inertia, arrogance etc. When one conquers these tendencies, one attains the purity of mind, Satva, indispensable for attaining of moksha, the liberation or realization of the self. For realizing the self as pure awareness, purity of mind is required. Fasting helps to keep at bay tendencies which could be triggered by intake of certain foods. Keeping vigil in the night is symbolic of awareness, or being watchful of the contents of the mind. When the mind is looked at, it becomes still. To abide in the stillness is to attain freedom or peace, acquired through the merging of the mind with the self. This is symbolic of the mind automatically being absorbed in the sight of Vishnu after the arduous fast and vigil.
The belief that rice is prohibited, because Muran dwells in it, symbolically signifies that the eating of rice makes one feel heavy and hampers the vigil. This signifies that entertaining negative tendencies could hamper one's progress towards awareness or consciousness. Observance of the rituals on this auspicious day even without understanding their importance is beneficial. Hence the merit accrued through observing them with piety is believed to be immeasurable. In the Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna at the beginning of Kurukshetra is said to have occurred on this day.
This temple is the main attraction for tourists visiting this town. The temple galigopuram is very tall and can be seen 5 km away from the town. The unique feature of the temple is that every year, from 23 December to 3 January, the sun's rays at dawn enter the sanctum sanctorum, through specially placed windows, and fall at the feet of the deity making them glow for 20 minutes in a day.
The galigopuram was constructed in such a manner that the sunrays would pass through three holes in the Garudalwar mandir between 6.40 a.m. and 7 a.m. every day for 12 days from December 23. The rays falling at the center of the Garudalwar mandir would reflect on the idols in the sanctum sanctorum making them glow with golden hues. An incredible architectural feat that speaks volumes of the expertise of the artisans of the Sri Krishna devaraya period. According to the legend, the Lord killed a demon by name Kesi, so he became known as Kesava here. As the Lord was strikingly beautiful and accompanied by his consort Lakshmi, he was worshipped here as Lakshmi Chenna Kesava Swamy. Every year during the month of March and April, there will be a mela for more than 10 days, at that time it is assumed that at least 100,000 people visit the temple. There is a big teru(Car) where they take the Utsav statue of the god during this ceremony. Recently they have demolished the old Car and constructed a new car. When we entered the queue, there were a long queue.we could be waited In the queue for45 minutes.I liked my town very much..archak bestowed prasadams to us.we ate at the temple…should we takeprasadam to home? No..dont say like that ….she said…many people may not think so…she said….sorry ma I said..she nodded…after that, we headed back to the home…I felt blessed on this mukkoti Ekadashi at chenna Kesava temple…I never ever had visited such a sanctum temple in my entire life…I enjoyed a lot with my mother…..happy mukkoti Ekadashi,..thank you….
The galigopuram was constructed in such a manner that the sunrays would pass through three holes in the Garudalwar mandir between 6.40 a.m. and 7 a.m. every day for 12 days from December 23. The rays falling at the center of the Garudalwar mandir would reflect on the idols in the sanctum sanctorum making them glow with golden hues. An incredible architectural feat that speaks volumes of the expertise of the artisans of the Sri Krishna devaraya period. According to the legend, the Lord killed a demon by name Kesi, so he became known as Kesava here. As the Lord was strikingly beautiful and accompanied by his consort Lakshmi, he was worshipped here as Lakshmi Chenna Kesava Swamy. Every year during the month of March and April, there will be a mela for more than 10 days, at that time it is assumed that at least 100,000 people visit the temple. There is a big teru(Car) where they take the Utsav statue of the god during this ceremony. Recently they have demolished the old Car and constructed a new car. When we entered the queue, there were a long queue.we could be waited In the queue for45 minutes.I liked my town very much..archak bestowed prasadams to us.we ate at the temple…should we takeprasadam to home? No..dont say like that ….she said…many people may not think so…she said….sorry ma I said..she nodded…after that, we headed back to the home…I felt blessed on this mukkoti Ekadashi at chenna Kesava temple…I never ever had visited such a sanctum temple in my entire life…I enjoyed a lot with my mother…..happy mukkoti Ekadashi,..thank you….
Mukkoti Ekadashi Festival Ceremony in my Hometown
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Sunday, December 31, 2017
