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Published: April 21st 2006
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Peak of wisdom
The Kodajadri hill rises against a screen of mist After a four-hour journey from Mangalore, the bus entered Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary. One of the most popular pilgrim centres in India is covered in thick forest. Mookambika temple in Kollur is equally inspiring for the religious and the atheist, laymen and artists.
The temple owes its mythological origin to Shankaracharya, the ninth-century pioneer of Hindu revivalism. The scholar-sage prayed the goddess of Sringeri, where he had founded one of his four mutts, to come with him to his homeland in Kerala. The goddess accepted to be led by him if he did not dare to look back at her.
Shankara took the goddess to Kerala, the divine anklets chiming behind him. When the strange convoy reached Kollur, the sound stopped. The confused Shankara turned back. The goddess was still there but she refused to follow the sage who broke the condition. Thus Kollur became home to the powerful goddess and her devotees.
About 40 km (22 if you are adventurous: 12 km on a winding Ghat road followed by a 10-km five-hour trek through the forest) from the temple, is the Kodajadri peak, which houses Sarvajnapeetham, the scholar’s seat, commemorating Shankara’s invincible debate near Srinagar in the Himalayan
Nature to culture
The Sowparnika river meanders round the Kollur Mookambika temple valley. Kollur’s benefactor has a tribute on Kodajadri.
Shaji’s jeep climbs the rocky road to Kodajadri. The drive is impossible. But for Shaji and his colleagues, it has been a daily routine for years. Eight passengers will get him Rs 1200. The forest through which we pass houses every animal but lion and elephant, he says. On rainy months this is a different forest with different hues, he adds.
The jeep goes up to a small shrine dedicated to Mookambika. A huge pole sticks out of the roof of the shrine. Adiga, the priest, says it is the tip of the trident with which the goddess pinned Mookasura, a demon, to the ground. In the next house live the Adiga and his family. One of the many streams in the forest has formed into a pond on the way to Sarvajnapeetham.
The green hill blends into the clouds above. We trek through the narrow forest path. Many of our fellow-travellers abandon the steep hikes. As we come out of the forest cover to the rocky expases on the cliff, the red sun is about to go behind a screen of mist. We stand on the shore of
Mother nature
The famed Mookambika temple in Kollur a sea of clouds. It’s a strange coincidence that we came to Kodajadri this year, Anil says. He has turned 33, the age Sankara attained Sarvajnapeetham, he explains. Need to check the facts.
On the peak is the granite portico, which stands testimony to Shankara’s scholasticism. Inside, there is a tiny idol of the sage. People who climb the hill no longer look for enlightenment. Groups of youngsters make merry round the monument. Some of them collect twigs to light up a campfire in the night. The height is a favourite campsite for the students from the plains.
Inspite of its strong religious connection, Mookambika is a second home to writers, singers and artists of all religions. The destructor-goddess is a favourite of the creative mind. Men of letters who come here on annual pilgrimages vouch that the temple rejuvenates their drained brains. Standing on top of the highest peak in Kodajadri, metres away from the Sarvajnapeetham, we feel our brains rebooting. The setting sun, the soothing wind, the magnetic depths and the clouds covering it make us want to stay there forever. But civilization is a demanding mistress.
It’s getting darker. We can’t wait any longer.
Rays of piety
The golden dome of the Mookambika temple in Kollur It would be dangerous to negotiate the tough terrain once mist falls. Shaji starts the journey downhill. The jeep sways like a yacht caught in high wind. Dust and mist cover us all. We are in time for the bus back to Kerala. The trip has been exciting and disappointing. Exciting because there was so much to see. Disappointing because there was so little time on hand.
Our consolation was the Magellans, who left out for Kodajadri peak and reached the Adiga’s house, where they started! Luckily, we were not lost in the jungle maze.
We vow to return for the experience of the Mookambika temple and the Souparnika river. As Anil and I get in the bus, Naveen, Sijo and John stay back to join Srikanth and Pramesh.
We came here in three groups. While we were trekking, Pramesh and Srikanth were experiencing their piece of adventure in some other part of the sanctuary. Later, they told us that they heard a tiger growl. That they met a cave-dwelling sage, who assured them there was a tiger on the prowl. That the tiger and the sage happily coexisted in the forest.
The whirlwind trip comes to an end as our bus winds down the hilly road. It is said that a trip to Mookambika can never be planned. No matter how you plan, the TIME has to come for you to come to Mookambika. Wish we had planned this journey a bit wisely. If we had taken a night bus to Mookambika from Mangalore last night, when we were exploring the city, we would have returned satisfied. But then the pious may be right. There must be a time for it.
(Pictures by Srikanth TV)
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