Once in the famous Tiruvalangadu Shiva Temple, a beautiful dancer, whose name was Satyavani was performing dance consorts in the temple. She got married and she had two children out of her marriage. The Male child was named as Tirukanda Nattuvan, and the female child was named as Navakyani, and she contains the features of Ma Shakti Devi. After attaining teenage, Ma Navakyani began to perform dance consorts in Tiruvalangadu Shiva Temple. Once a temple priest Bhuvanapati, who was serving in the Ekambareswarar Temple had visited the famous Tiruvalangadu Temple, and after seeing Navakyani, he was attracted with the mesmerising beauty of Navakyani, and hence he approached Satyavani, gave lot of ornaments and money in order to make her to send her daughter Navakyani with him to joyfully spend some time with her.
But Satyavani even after receiving the wealth from Bhuvanapati didn’t fulfil his wishes. Bhuvanapati got angry with Satyavani, and hence with a worried state of mind, he began to leave from that place.
After hearing about the entire incident from her brother Tirukanda Nattuvan, Navakyani took the bag of jewels and money which was given by the priest to her mother, and she searched for the temple priest, found him and gave the entire things to him, and also asked him to marry her. Though Ma Navakyani was a chaste and a pious girl, but since the temple priest Bhuvanapati has doubted about her chastity and purity, he hit her with a stone. While Ma Navakyani was about to die, she cursed him, and died. After some time, due to the curse of Navakyani, Bhuvanapati had died due to a snake bite.
In course of time, the village people began to construct a wonderful temple for Ma Navakyani at the place where she was died, and named it as Ma Navakyani Muppandal Amman Temple. They also began to perform all sorts of temple rituals like offering of Holy Prasad, decorating the holy goddess Ma Navakyani Amman with flowers, flower garlands and ornaments, and she is also worshipped by the devotees as Ma Muppandal Amman. During Aadi month, we can find a huge crowd at this excellent Amman Temple, and the devotees would be eagerly and patiently waiting for their turn in the queue, to have the darshan of the holy goddess, Ma Navakyani Amman, who would give all sorts of prosperity to the devotees.
“OM MA NAVAKYANI MUPPANDAL AMMANE THUNAI”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR