Thrikkateeri Jayabali celebrated

Palakkad :The offering is being made on this particular day of Thiruvathira in the month of Dhanu of the Malayalam calendar, which is considered as the birthday of Lord Shiva as well as the Kamadahana day.

Though the trinity in Hindu legends is formed by Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, at the Trikkateeri temple the order is Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma, and therefore devotees give importance to Shiva.

For the Jayabali, 72.25 para measures (about 725 kilos) of rice were boiled to make choru and a wall was built with this around the temple.

Special poojas were performed, and at midnight the Tantri of the temple cut the holy rice wall into pieces with Darbha grass.

Later this was distributed among the devotees as Thiruvathira prasad at the temple.

A legend about the temple has it that the trinity had given darshan to Anasuya in the form of infants while she was performing a penance at Thrikkateeri, which was then a forest.

Though Jayabali used to be performed in certain other temples previously, presently Thrikkateeri is the only temple where this particular offering is made.

Jayabali at the Perumangode temple in the district and Nedumpura temple, Cheruthuruthy in Thrissur district was stopped half a century ago, with the implementation of the Land Reforms Act.

The Moonnumoorthy temple at Thrikkateeri is situated some 15 km off the Ottapalam-Cherpulassery road. The temple also celebrates Ashtami Rohini in a big way.