Temples of Munnur (Historical Study)
by R. Muthuraman | 2016 | 67,784 words
This essay represents a historical study of the Temples in and around Munnur, situated in the Dakshina Kannada district in the state Karnataka (India). Munnur is regarded as an important religious city for the followers of both Shaivism and Vaishnavism. The ancient history of Munnur traces to the reign of the Chola, from whom the city derives it's ...
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Nitya Pujas
The ritual in a temple consists of four celebrations which take place at sunrise, noon, sunset and mid-night. However, the number of times the ceremonial worship is to be conducted depends on the tradition and the agamas which govern the particular temple.
The daily worship in a temple is known as nitya Puja. The nitya Pujas are of three kinds as mentioned in agamas namely uttamam, madhyamam and adhamam. The eight sandhi Pujas are called uttamama[1]. Usually eight sandhi Pujas are not performed. But six sandhi Pujas are called uttamam, four sandhi Pujas are called madhyamam and two sandhi Pujas are called adhamam.
In the Adavalleswarar temple at Munnur, daily four sandhi pujas are being performed.[2]
They are:
- Kalasandhi (morning puja) from 6.00 to 9.00 a.m.
- Ucchikalam(mid-day(noon) from 10.00a.m. to 12.00 noon.
- Sayaratchai (evening puja) from 4.30 p.m. to 7.00p.m.
- Arthajamam (night puja) from 9.00 p.m. to 10.30p.m.
At present, the above pujas are performed in this temple.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Suresh Aiyer, Interview, 20thOctober2014.
[2]:
Kesava Pattacharya, Interview, 25th October, 2013.