Friday 2 September 2011

Temple Dedicated to Shakuni of Mahabharat


Sakuni, or Shakuni Mama, the uncle of Kauravas, in the Mahabharata is one of the most hated personalities in Hindu scriptures. His name is associated with villainy and people talk about him scornfully and with disrespect. But Santana Dharma sees a person in terms of Gunas. It is true that Tamasic characteristics was dominant in Shakuni but he too had Sattvic elements and this was recognized by a community in Kerala and there is an ancient temple dedicated to Shakuni at Pavithreswaram in Kollam District of Kerala.

A throne believed to have been used by Shakuni is found in this ancient temple. There are no usual pujas and Tantric rituals at the temple. Offerings to the temple include tender coconut, silk, toddy etc. The temple is maintained by the Kurava community of the region.

Expressbuzz writes reports about this unique temple

During the Mahabharata battle, Shakuni traveled across the country along with his nephews, the Kauravas. When they reached the place where the temple is situated, the Kauravas divided their weapons among them. Since then, the place came to be known as ‘Pakutheswaram’, which later became Pavithreswaram.

Shakuni returned to this place after the battle and attained ‘moksha’ with the blessings of Lord Siva and became Lord Sakuni. The subdeities of the temple include Bhuvaneswari Devi, Kiratha Moorthi and Nagaraja.

The festival of the temple, popularly known as Malakkuda Maholsavam, is observed in the Makaram month in the Malayalam calendar.

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