STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES OF INDIA
TAMIL NADU
Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari,
also known as Cape Comorin is located at the southern most tip of India,
where the Bay of Bengal, Indian OCean & Arabian Sea meet. A dip
in the ocean here is considered holy, but the sea is rough here and not
fit for bathing. This is the only place in India, where the sun set
and moon rise can be viewed simultaneously on a full moon day.
Kanyakumari
Temple
Kanyakumari is
known by the name of the virgin Goddess Parvati who was to have wed Lord
Siva. In one of her incarnations, Parvathi Devi was born as Kanyakumari
Devi. She performed penance to wed Lord Siva. The asura king
Bana, had gained the boon that he could be killed only by a virgin girl
and this was the reason for this incarnation of Devi. Arrangements
were made for the wedding and Siva had started from the nearby Thanumalayan
Temple at Suchindram. The Devas had to stop the wedding from taking
place, if the Devi was to kill the asura. So they tricked Lord Siva
by crowing like a cock. Lord Siva, believing that the auspicious
time had passed returned to Suchindram. The Devi vowed to remain
a virgin and thus was able to kill the asura Bana. The rice that
was to be used for the wedding is said to be scattered as the seven different
coloured sands at the beach.
There is a
story about the nose ring once worn by the Goddess. It was a naga
mani (from a cobra) and was so bright that some ships were misguided and
shipwrecked near the shore. This stone is not available now, but
the eastern gate to the temple is still closed except during festival days.
Devotees enter the temple through the northern gate. Two diamond
nose rings donated by the Maharajah of Trivandrum adorns the idol of the
Devi now who is covered in sandal paste.
Swami Vivekananda
Rock Memorial
Two
rocks reach out of the ocean, south-east of the Kumari Amman temple. One
of these is Sri Padaparai, where the footprints of the virgin goddess are
to be seen. Swami Vivekananda sat in meditation on this rock before
his journey to the West to spread Hinduism in 1892. The Memorial
to Swami Vivekananda was built here in 1970. There is a meditation
hall and the polished floors reflect the image of the statue of Vivekananda.
The sacred 'OM' is glowing in green on the wall.
Sri Padaparai
(Padam-feet; Parai - rock) Mandapam is a shrine erected at the spot where
the foot print of the Goddess is seen.
Mahatma
Gandhi Memorial
This
memorial to the Mahatma was erected at the spot where his ashes were kept
for public view before immersion in the sea. The memorial is so constructed
that every year on October 2nd, On gandhiji's birthday, the sun's rays
falls on the exact spot where the urn was displayed.
Lady of Ransom church
A tall white beautiful structure.
Places near Kanyakumari
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