A shrine of bells and anecdotes
Palangala, a remote village in Kodagu retains its pristine environment, despite creeping urbanisation. Palangala holds a special place in my heart since it is where my mother’s family lived. As children, we used to visit our maternal grandparents, and I have pleasant memories of this village.
One of the happy memories I have is that of a shrine atop a hill named Malethirke. My parents were devotees of this shrine and it was an annual tryst to visit the temple during our summer vacation. The only way to get to the temple those days was by walk through thick wooded mountain terrain. It used to be an arduous walk of more than a kilometre along a winding beaten path.
One particularly interesting story connected with this shrine is the attack by Tipu’s troops during the late eighteenth century. The Kodava warriors were outnumbered and were unable to stop the marauders. They hid in the forest and prayed for divine intervention. Their prayers were answered, and according to lore, swarms of rock-bees attacked the troops and chased them down the ghats. There is evidence of this attack in the form of remnant of an old sword which was abandoned by the soldiers.
I recently visited the shrine with my wife. There is now a reasonably motorable road to the top. The location of the shrine is serene and peaceful. It’s a temple to Lord Shiva, Parvathy and Ganesha. Legend has it that the Pandavas spent their ajnathavasa here. Lord Shiva is said to have appeared to the Pandavas at this spot. Three uneven stones represent Shiva, Parvathy, and Ganesha in an open tree-covered platform. This is the sanctum-sanctorum. There is no set structure. The priest puts it succinctly: “The sky is the roof of this temple, the mountains are the walls, trees are the adornments, and the birds provide the music.” There is also a pond nearby which has potable spring water.
Another interesting story is that of St Annes Church in Virajpet, which was first built in 1792 during Dodda Vira Rajendra’s reign, who welcomed the Christians displaced by Tipu. When the church was under construction, the spire kept collapsing every time it was built. The Italian architect could not figure out what was going wrong.
A local person advised the architect to make an offering of a bell to Malethirke temple, in order to overcome the problem. The architect followed this advice and was amazed when the spire stood steady at the first subsequent attempt. Even to this day, devotees take vows and offer bells to this temple. The surroundings of the temple is full of bells festooned around it.
Another form of offering by the devotees who take vows, is by way of earthenware figurines. There are piles of figurines of horses, cows, dogs, and human forms offered over the centuries. I took in the divine beauty of nature as the priest went about the various rituals. Savouring the payasam as prasada brought back happy memories of my earlier visits to this beautiful shrine.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Spectrum / by C P Belliappa / June 09th, 2015
