Dwarapalakas
Dwarapalakas are the security guards or the divine gatekeepers, usually would be found before the entrance of the main shrine in the temples. In general if we mention the name Dwarapalakas, we would refer only to Jaya and Vijaya, the divine gate keepers of Lord Vishnu. But Dwarapalakas are available for all other deities like Shiva, Shakti, Ganapathy and Murugan.
Dwarapalakas appearance would slightly differ from each other. Vishnu Dwarapalaka would be having weapons like mace, Shanku and Chakra in their hands, whereas Shiva Dwarapalakas would be having trident and Pasha in their hands. They would appear in standing posture, and would appear similar to their respective masters.
Working as a Dwarapalaka in the divine worlds, is not an easy job, since it requires too much of patience and mental stability. In order to serve as security gods to the gods and goddesses, they must have to control their mind, and must keep their full attention only on their masters. Dwarapalakas contain spiritual powers, and they also would heal our diseases, gives good physical and mental strength and would come with us in our every walk of life.
Dwarapalakas major duty is to protect the devotees, and to make them to get a nice darshan of their beloved deities in the temples.Before praying to the almighty, it is best to pray to the Dwarapalakas in order to get our prayers easily answered by the god. We should not consider Dwarapalakas as just security guards, but we must realize that they also contain the features of the deities.
As per legend, when Jaya and Vijaya were cursed by the divine sages Sanath Kumaras, as per the request of Devarishi Narada, for some time, the great Bhakta Prahalada had served as Dwarapalaka in the Vaikunta.
In the Shiva Loka, Lord Nandikeswarar is considered as the DwaraPalaka as well as the Divine Vehicle of Lord Shiva. Though we don’t have the capacity to serve as Dwarapalakas to the deities, at least by thinking about the noble service of the holy Dwarapalakas, we could get great spiritual enlightenment.
“OM”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR