Miraculous Athishaya Vinayakar Who Changes His Colour Once In Six Months

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As you travel around a Kilometre away from Thuckalay or Thakkalai on the Thiruvananthapuram - Nagercoil road, a miraculous surprise awaits to be discovered by the devotee folk. It is none other than the Athishaya Vinayakar temple, one of the prominent temples in the Keralapuram Shiva temple complex, which is 2300 years old, and known as the archa vigraha or the worshipped idol which the King of Lanka, Ravana worshipped during his time. Known for miraculous occurrences, associated with this Ganesha Idol and the temple premises, this famous shrine of Lord Ganesha attracts a huge base of visitors. This Ganesha shrine is right inside the premises of the Keralapuram Mahadevar temple where it shares the space with the other shrine dedicated to Lord Mahadevar.

Architecture

The temple does not flaunt towers, tall and stately, to call it an ancient temple. You can find a sprawling yard with ancient trees, a small dome with a sculpture of Lord Shiva and Parvathi etched on it. You can see several other idols each having a unique face. The locale is calm and carries a serene ambience.
Although the idols of this temple were established way before 1317, the temple was built officially in 1317. There are predominant Vaishnava influences on this temple as we can see the symbols of Vaishnavism etched in most parts of this temple. Once you enter the premises, and pass the granite snake figurine under the huge tree, you reach the Ganesha Temple which has a long passage leading you on the inside. Renovated over several times during the course of history, this temple exhibits paintings drawn on the walls inside it. The sanctum is kept covered at other times, by an Iron Grid sliding door. Here, the sanctum is not a chamber that is enclosed because the lord is installed under the banyan tree. This temple is chiefly a temple for Lord Shiva and is displays the architectural style of Kerala as it is located in the Kerala Tamil Nadu border.

Legends Associated:

There is a legend behind this phenomenon. When the Keralapuram king went on a pilgrimage to Rameshwaram, he spotted the king, who ruled Keralapuram, went for a pilgrimage to Rameshwaram, temple that is built opposite Bay of Bengal. As the King and his men were washing their feet in the beach, a Ganesh Idol swept away by the waves, fell amidst them. Along with this idol, the king gifted his friend Sethu Mannan, an emerald idol which was looted later during Mughal invasion. The Ganesha Idol could not be lifted from the ground to be carried inside the sanctum to install it there. It stuck to the ground firmly and refused to budge. Hence the king built a temple around it in the 12th century and the idols are at least 2,300 years old. Since the idol was not installed as per the scriptural instructions, and placed there on an elevated platform, it is easy for people to pray to God at all hours during the day. Abhishekam is carried out to the lord morning and evening.

Miracles

Coming to the Miracles, the Ganesha or Vinayakar idol appears black in colour from March to June, during Uttarayana, and appears white from July to February during Dakshinayana. Exact time is assessed based on the Malayalam Calender. From the month of Kumbham to Karkidakam the idol appears white and appears black from Chingam to Makaram.

The second instance of the miracle occurs with the water in the temple well. It changes colour every six months once. Thirdly it is temple Banyan trees whose leaves also change their colours accordingly. The water in the well is slightly dark when the Ganesha in the temple appears dark and it is slightly pale in colour when Ganesha appears white.

Surprisingly the Banyan tree exhibits dark green colour in leaves when the Ganesha Murti turns black in colour. When Ganesha turns white, the leaves acquire a pale green hue. This tree also sheds its leaves during Dakshinayana and new leaves sprout from March which is not the inherent quality of this tree.. These are the reasons why it acquired the name of Athishaya Vinayakar or Miraculous Vinayaka. The other deities worshipped in this temple include Goddess Parvati, Nagaraja and Nagayakshi.

Significance

This temple is the ultimate boon for those who are looking forward to an early marriage, as well as for kids. It is believed that breaking a coconut and offering rice dumplings here, the wishes can be fulfilled.

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