Nainativu Nagapooshni Amman Temple Shaktipeeth

Nainativu means the island or the city of the temple. Nagapooshani means the Goddess who bears snakes as jewellery. Amman means Goddess. Nainativu Nagapooshni Amman is an ancient temple on the island of Sri Lanka. This temple has dedicated to Parvati. Here Parvati is known by the name Nagapooshani and Bhubaneshwari. Shiva is named here as Nayinaar.

Since ancient times, anklets have been given tremendous significance to worshipping Shakti. The renowned Tamil epic Silapathikaram refers to this item in which the story begins and finishes with an anklet. It has considered as Silambu (anklets) of Sati fell here.

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Temple Architecture

The temple has four gateway towers 20-25 feet tall. The temple has beautifully designed in Tamil style and is an excellent symbol of Tamil people. Portugees destroyed this temple in the past ,in 1960.The present construction of temple has built between 1720 to 1790. Thousands of tourists come here to fulfil their wishes. There are around 10,000 sculptures in this temple.

Deity

The term "Bhuvaneshwari" refers to the universe's monarch or ruler. She is the Divine Mother, who rules over all of creation. All beings depend on her infinite being, the entire universe. She carries all of the worlds as a blossoming of her nature. She is the highest Lady of the Universe and Sundari Rajarajeshwari.

Sagun Roop of the Goddess Bhuvaneswari is Parvati. Bhuvaneshvari is one of the ten Mahavidya goddesses in Hinduism. There is an aspect of Devi who assisted in shaping the formation of the world by acting as part of the physical cosmos. According to Hindu mythology, she has regarded as the most potent Goddess in the universe. Additionally, Bhuvaneswari has received the place as the supreme Goddess who created everything and wiped out all the world's unneeded evils. In addition, she is worshipped as the mother goddess of Gayatri, Lakshmi, and Kali. Her Bija mantra is "Hreem."

She has also renowned as Adi Shakti. She has the power to influence events to suit her purposes. It has believed that she is unstoppable by anyone, including the Navagrahas and Trimurtis. She can give the Trimurtis any instructions she desires.

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Myth

1. According to the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, Lord Indra had tried to fulfil his desire for Ahalya, the wife of Gautama Maharishi. Indra pretended to be the saint and then began to woo and make love to Ahalya.When Maharishi Gautam came to know about this trick of Indra, he cursed him. Due to this curse, Indra's body was marked like a vagina. These mark on his body resembled the yoni (female reproductive organ). Because of the curse now Lord Indra was ridiculed everywhere. Due to this, he fled to the island of Nainativu for his safety because he could not endure the humiliation. Lord Indra first built the Nainativu Nagapoosani Amman Temple while seeking a way to escape the Gautama Maharishi curse.

The Universe's Queen, Bhuvaneswari Amman, manifested in front of Indra, and she transformed the yonis in his body into eyeballs when he displayed the utmost devotion, regret, and repentance necessary. She then started known as "Indrakshi" (Indra Eyed).

2. According to a different narrative, hundreds of years later, a cobra named Nagam was swimming from the nearby island of Puliyantivu to Nainativu while holding a lotus flower in its mouth to worship Bhuvaneswari Amman (who had already been dedicated by Indra). The cobra was spotted by an eagle named Garuda, who then attempted to kill it. About half a kilometre from the Nainativu coast, the cobra wound itself around a rock in the sea. At the same time, the eagle stood on a different rock called Garudan Kal ("the Rock of the Eagle") farther away.

The Naga and Garuda ended their long-running disputes when the eagle made three trips into the ocean to atone for its transgressions against them in the Mahabharata.

Festivals

Thiruvizha or Mahostvam festival (June-July)
Navaratri
Shivaratri
Adi Pooram

Other places to visit

Nithiya Ananthana Mandapam Temple
Vairavan Temple
Nainativu Jumma Mosque
Nainativu North Jetty

Temple Timing: 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Best Month to Visit: September to February

How To Reach

One can take a local bus from Jaffna to Kurikaadduvaan. After reaching Kurikaadduvaan, one can book a boat to reach the final destination, Nainativu Island.