The Sri Kalahasti temple is the home to one of the Pancha Bootha Lingams, i.e. "vaayu-lingam", representing the "air" element. It is associated with the great saint Kannappan Naayanaar and it is also a "parihaaram" place for those who have "kaala sarpa dosham" in their astrological charts.
As the legend goes, this siva-lingam was discovered by three animals- A SPIDER, AN ELEPHANT & A SNAKE. Each of them pray to Lord Siva in their own manner.
The spider wove a web over the "lingam" to protect it, whereas the snake took the gemstones from the "naaga-land" to decorate the lingam. The elephant took the river water to clean/bathe the lingam. But, the three were unaware of each others' existence, therefore each of them considered itself to be the sole guardian to the lingam. With each of them coming at different times daily, of course the spider and the snake got furious whenever they see their webs and the decorated precious stones got washed away, without knowing, from the elephant's conduct of cleansing the lingam everytime with river water. wOw!
This angered the spider and the snake and they wanted to take revenge on whoever did this to their lingam, and they finally discovered it was the elephant that destroyed their decorations. A fight ensued among the three. The snake managed to bite the elephant, and as it fell, it speared the snake with it's tusks and crushed the spider simultaneously. Finally all three died. However, the three were blessed by Lord Siva for their unwavering faith and devotion. Finally, all of them attained salvation. And these are the three earliest devotees.
Sri Kaalahasteeswara name is made up of (LORD SHIVA=EESWARA), (SPIDER=SRI), (SNAKE=KAALA) & (ELEPHANT=HASTI).
As the legend goes, this siva-lingam was discovered by three animals- A SPIDER, AN ELEPHANT & A SNAKE. Each of them pray to Lord Siva in their own manner.
The spider wove a web over the "lingam" to protect it, whereas the snake took the gemstones from the "naaga-land" to decorate the lingam. The elephant took the river water to clean/bathe the lingam. But, the three were unaware of each others' existence, therefore each of them considered itself to be the sole guardian to the lingam. With each of them coming at different times daily, of course the spider and the snake got furious whenever they see their webs and the decorated precious stones got washed away, without knowing, from the elephant's conduct of cleansing the lingam everytime with river water. wOw!
This angered the spider and the snake and they wanted to take revenge on whoever did this to their lingam, and they finally discovered it was the elephant that destroyed their decorations. A fight ensued among the three. The snake managed to bite the elephant, and as it fell, it speared the snake with it's tusks and crushed the spider simultaneously. Finally all three died. However, the three were blessed by Lord Siva for their unwavering faith and devotion. Finally, all of them attained salvation. And these are the three earliest devotees.
Sri Kaalahasteeswara name is made up of (LORD SHIVA=EESWARA), (SPIDER=SRI), (SNAKE=KAALA) & (ELEPHANT=HASTI).
It is the association with the snake that give it the parihaara status, where pujas are performed to appease RAHU & KETU.
There is also another story about Kannappan Naayanaar, who is an ardent devotee of Lord Siva. He never failed to perform his daily worship. He brought water from the river in his mouth and bathed the image of the Lord by emptying his mouth onto the lingam. Then he would chew bits of meat to ensure its suitability and offer to the deity.
One day he saw a discharge from the left eye of the image. As he is in deep devotion, he wanted to cure the defect in the eyes of his Lord. He pull out his own eye and put it onto the Lord's eye that was in defect. Then, he saw a similar discharge from the other eye of the image too.
Without thinking of the consequences that may arise, he decided to pull out his other eye too...OMG!! He also realise that he may not be able to see once he pull out his other eye. He put his leg to mark the spot where the eye would go so that it would appear properly balanced on the image, once he decided to pull his other eye out. Of course, when he is blind he wouldn't be able to see where to put the other eye on the image. What a un-belieavable act of devotion!
As he was about to perform the act, the Lord appeared in front of him and this prevented him from self-mutilation. The Lord was pleased with his devotion and he subsequently granted him eternal bliss.
Sri Kalahasti temple is very important to the Shaivites as how Tirupati Temple is important to Vaishnavites.
Check with your astrologers for the presence of Kaala-Sarpa Dosham in your Astrological charts and know about the effects of this Dosham more.
There is also another story about Kannappan Naayanaar, who is an ardent devotee of Lord Siva. He never failed to perform his daily worship. He brought water from the river in his mouth and bathed the image of the Lord by emptying his mouth onto the lingam. Then he would chew bits of meat to ensure its suitability and offer to the deity.
One day he saw a discharge from the left eye of the image. As he is in deep devotion, he wanted to cure the defect in the eyes of his Lord. He pull out his own eye and put it onto the Lord's eye that was in defect. Then, he saw a similar discharge from the other eye of the image too.
Without thinking of the consequences that may arise, he decided to pull out his other eye too...OMG!! He also realise that he may not be able to see once he pull out his other eye. He put his leg to mark the spot where the eye would go so that it would appear properly balanced on the image, once he decided to pull his other eye out. Of course, when he is blind he wouldn't be able to see where to put the other eye on the image. What a un-belieavable act of devotion!
As he was about to perform the act, the Lord appeared in front of him and this prevented him from self-mutilation. The Lord was pleased with his devotion and he subsequently granted him eternal bliss.
Sri Kalahasti temple is very important to the Shaivites as how Tirupati Temple is important to Vaishnavites.
Check with your astrologers for the presence of Kaala-Sarpa Dosham in your Astrological charts and know about the effects of this Dosham more.
Learn to solve your own problems with the expert guidance of a competent astrologer.
Regards,
Professional Astrologer Jyotisha Ravi
H/P: 016-9700 001
www. jyotisharavi.blogspot.com
Email: jyotisharavi@yahoo.com
Regards,
Professional Astrologer Jyotisha Ravi
H/P: 016-9700 001
www. jyotisharavi.blogspot.com
Email: jyotisharavi@yahoo.com
