PARASHURAMESHWAR TEMPLE – ANDHRA PRADESH – CHITTOOR – GUDIMALAM – Part 4
SHIVA – PARASHURAMA – BRAHMA - THE LEGEND - GUDIMALLAM
Sage JAMADAGNI was a SAPTARISHI in the current MANAVANTARA and PARASHURAMA or Bhadrarama was his son out
of his Kshatriya wife RENUKA & the 6th incarnation of MAHAVISHNU
who visited the earth to absolve it from
the weight of the sins of mankind.
So chaste was Renuka, the wife of Sage Jamadagni, that she used to
carry water daily in pots made out of unbaked clay with the power of her
devotion to her husband. One day she was attracted to some gandharvas flying
over the river and was momentarily filled with desire, the unbaked clay
dissolved in the water.
Sage Jamadagni divined through his yogic powers all that had happened
and in a fit of rage asked his sons to execute her. None except, Parashurama
agreed and beheaded his mother to death with his axe. The sage cursed his other sons to become
stone. Pleased with Parashurama Sage
Jamadagni gave two boons to him, who in turn asked his mother to be revived
with one boon and wanted his brothers back to life from being a stone with the
other.
Burdened with the guilt of the act of Matri Hatya, or beheading his
mother, he wanted to do penance and as advised by Rishis, he went in search of
the SHIVA LINGAM at GUDIMALLAM. After searching for many a days, he found the
temple in a forest and dug a pond nearby for the daily prayers and started his
penance.
The pond used to
give a single divine flower every day morning, which Parashurama used to offer
to lord Shiva. He appointed a Yaksha named Chitrasena (an incarnation of Lord
Brahma) to guard the flower. In return Chitrasena had to be fed with an animal
and a pot of toddy every day. Parashurama used to hunt an animal for Chitrasena
daily.
One day when
Parashurama went out to hunt, Chitrasena felt tempted to worship Shiva himself.
He used the single flower to worship Shiva. An enraged Parashurama attacked
Chitrasena when he found the flower missing. The fierce battle lasted for
a long period that a pallam, or pit, was created at the site. Thus
’Gudipallam’, or ‘temple in the pit’, became Gudimallam over time. Unable to
choose the victor, Shiva is finally merged Chitrasena and Parashuram into
the Shivling. The Gudimallam Shivling still shows Parashurama standing on the
Yaksha with the hunted beast and toddy pot.
Brahma as
Chitrasena, Vishnu as Parasurama and Shiva as the Lingam form the unique
Shivalingam.
Comments
Post a Comment