April 11, 2009
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Polali is currently in focus because of the annual festival of Shri Rajarajeshwari Temple, located 20 KM away from Mangalore. The current festival season started on March 14 and ends on April 12.
Polali temple has very interesting sthalapurana. Like all great temples, the temple at Polali is on the bank of a river – Falguni River, popularly called Gurpur River. According to some accounts, the great flood of 1446 washed away the whole township in Polali, including palaces, leaving intact only the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. It is said to be of very ancient origin. It seems to find mention variously from the dawn of the Christian era. The Chinese traveler, Fayian, who traveled through India in 6th century AD, has written that “In the whole of Hindustan I have not come across such powerful image (Murti) of any deity”.}
The clay statue of the deity at Polali, at 9 ft. in height, is said to be the tallest such in India. The statue is given lepasthagandha every 12 years by the tantri. A special clay mixture to restore the images had been stored in the temple for use down the centuries. We can briefly touch upon how her image came to be installed.
In ancient times, Suratha Maharaj was ruling the land. He had a fight with a tribe of hunters and got defeated. He surrendered and retreated to the safety of his palace. Realising the weakness of the king, his ministers took control of the army and administration. Sensing danger to his life, Suratha fled to the forest. There he went into an ashram where the rishi, Sumedha Maharshi, welcomed him. The king explained his situation to the rishi. The rishi offered to host him in the ashram. But, the king kept on worrying about what he had lost and left behind.
Then, another man reached the rishi’s ashram – a Vaisha by name Samadhi. He was rich; but was driven out of home by his family which was after his riches. Like the king, the Vaisha also kept on remembering and worrying about his family. Both could not understand why they were concerned about those who had rejected them. The rishi guides them to know their true situation and says that it is the impact of Adimahamaye. They request the rishi to enlighten them about this deity. A long story ensues at the end the rishi advised the two to surrender themselves to the Devi who, he said, would save and bless them. He also gave them a mantra to recite.
The king and the Vaisha went to the nearby river, made a clay image of the Devi and installed it chanting the given mantra and commenced the worship. Then the two started thapasya continuously for three years. This made the Devi happy and appearing before them she offered to give them the boon of their desire. The king asked for a kingdom in his next life which was unconquerable by others. As for this life, he asked to be given back his lost kingdom. The Vaisha did not want any worldly wealth but only moksha. These boons were promptly granted. The Vaisha goes on a long pilgrimage and in due time attains moksha. As for the king, his ministers came to him pleading for him to become the king again and informing him that they had already defeated the enemies.
Polali has a busy calendar of feasts and events through the year. Temple feasts are normally associated with some popular entertainment like Kambalas and cockfight. Polali has it unique sport - the one which excites popular interest is the annual five-day Chendu (football match). This Chendu Utsava is very popular. Originally it was staged on three days. In 1686, Rani Chennamma, so impressed by it, arranged for it to be extended by two more days. The contest is mainly between Amunje and Manel villages. The fame of this Chendu was so great that the Muslim king of Mysore, Tippu Sultan, had a spectator’s platform built on the north side of the play field for him to view the play with his family. It is called Sultan Katte even to this day.
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John B. Monteiro, author and journalist, is editor of his website www.welcometoreason.com (Interactive Cerebral Challenger).
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