Ananthapadmanabha temple near Kumble

Few places of worship offer both spiritual calm and a fun outing, which make for a pleasurable family experience. Ananthapadmanabha temple near Kumble is one such. An hour's scenic drive from Mangalore, one crosses to Kasargode district to reach this lake temple in Kerala. The nearly 2,000-year-old temple is said to have been the abode of Lord Ananthapadmanabha. It is believed that a passage from this temple leads all the way to the more famous Ananthapadmanabha temple in Thiruvananthapuram. The lake itself is very picturesque, thick with lotuses, and said to be modelled on the Kshirasagara of Vaikunta, the abode of Vishnu. The star attraction at this temple is the resident crocodile. Local legend has it that a crocodile has always lived in the temple. Elders in Ananthapura village say the British here shot a crocodile in 1945. A baby crocodile surfaced in the lake just a few days after the incident. The present crocodile has been in the lake since then, says Karunakara, secretary of the temple. The lucky visitor has the chance to see Babbiya, as the crocodile is called, taking her meal. Every afternoon, a priest from the temple feeds it a ball of rice near the cave it inhabits.
Idols in the making
A panchaloha idol is worshipped in the temple at present. Watching the pooja with the lake in the background is a serene experience. The idol is currently placed in a sanctum sanctorum to the right of the temple. As six new idols are being made for the shrine, no prayers are offered at the main sanctum now. These idols are of a unique kind. They are not made of metal or stone, but from 64 essential Ayurvedic elements. These elements are combined in an elaborate laborious procedure to make the Kadusharkarapaka. The idols are made by applying layers of this to a basic model made of katchi mara.
Karunakara tells us that initially there was a Kadusharkarapaka idol at the temple. It was replaced by a panchaloha idol in 1975. The temple faced a lot of problems in the 1990s. After consultations with astrologers, it was decided to reinstall the Kadusharkaraaka idol in the temple.
About 24 layers of the Kadusharkarapaka are applied to make the idol, he explains. Till the 17th layer, the shape of the idol is not marked out clearly. It becomes definable intricate only after 21 layers. Twenty-three layers have been completed so far. The final layer is a mixture of silver and gold, and a variety of natural substances such as mud from anthills and crab holes, and kasturi (taken out from musk deer). "We pray to God for health and wealth. The final layer of silver and gold is for wealth."
No easy task
Getting all the material required in the process has not been easy for temple authorities. `At one point, the kasturi proved elusive when high priest of Pashupathi temple in Nepal happened to come visiting. He helped the temple authorities procure the much-needed kasturi from Nepal, where it is abundant.
The idols are almost complete, and the final layers will be put in place once the priests decide on the date to install the idols.
Tales about the temple and its crocodile are many; and believing is of course a matter of choice. But just listening to these stories sitting by the still waters of the lotus lake makes it a worthwhile trip.