MALAPPURAM:
Beginning its homebound journey, the Oushadha Biksha Yatra launched by Koothattukulam Sreedhareeyam Oushadheswari Temple today passed through major temples in Kannur and Malappuram.
When the Yatra reached Sree Kadambuzha Bhagavathi temple in Malappuram district, devotees poured in from far and wide to offer ‘thriphala’ and Ghee as alms, as befits the tradition of collecting the ingredients for making the restorative Ayurvedic preparation consumed in the Malayalam month Karkitakam.
The Yatra, the first such massive road show ever undertaken, was flagged off on June 27 from Sreedhareeyam Oushadeswari temple at Koothattukulam in a vehicle modelled as a chariot carrying the idol of Goddess of Wellness, Oushadeswari, to tour 114 temples in the state to collect medicines and herbs.
The Yatra also visited Sree Ramaswamy temple and Sree Jagannatha temple, both in Thalasser, Sree Krishna Temple, Mahe and Sree Nava Mukunda temple, Thirunavaya, today. The campaign, which marks the revival of an age-old tradition of gathering ingredients for making the restorative Ayurvedic package consumed by people in Karkitakam and invoking the divine blessings for universal well being, has received enthusiastic response in all the places it had its stop-over .
On Thursday, the Yatra will pass through Tripanangode Mahashiva temple, Alathiyur Hanuman Kavu temple, Sree Notta Nalungal Bhagavathi temple, Kuttipuram, Sree Manaliyarkavu Bhagavathi temple, Kaladithara. In the evening, it will enter the famed temple town of Guruvayur where its first stop over will be Sree Parthasarathy temple followed by Thiruvenkitachalapthy temple and Mammiyur temple.
The extensive campaign had covered 28 temples down to Thiruvananthapuram in its initial leg, followed by another 47 temples in its north-bound journey. Its return journey includes 39 more temples, taking the total number of shrines to be toured to 114.
It’s been an age old tradition in Kerala to take specially prepared medicines and follow a strict regimen of simple diet and oil bath in the month of Karkitakam (broadly July-August ), to re-energise body and the mind. Medicines, herbs and other ingredients collected during the campaign from around the state would go into the making of the special ‘Karkitaka” medicine package, which will be distributed among the people.
