 |
| Goddess Adishakthi of Bettanakurike Gollarahatti, Tumkur |
It all started when a local shepherd by name Ramalingalippa
went to the nearby hills to graze his goats and sheep. The hill has the name Devakannikeyara betta( Hill of godly
women). As usual when the goats were grazing on the hills, the shepherd heard a
woman’s voice from near him. But he could not see anyone. The voice told him
that it was willing to go along with him to his village. Other shepherds
standing near him could not hear the voice. The voice was loud and clear. This
went on for many months. He got fed up of this and was very much scared to go
to the hills. His family members suggested him to take the help of a sorcerer
to end his problem. He went to the sorcerer who chanted some mantras and gave
him a sacred thread. Ramalingalippa had to tie it around his right shoulder and
go to the hills.
Next day when he went to the hills he was shocked once again
because the voice was heard as usual. The sacred thread was of no use for him.
This time his house members told him leave the village for some time and stay
in his relative’s house at Bangalore. But it was of no use. A dark figure of
woman appeared in his dreams every day and reminded him saying that it was
desperate to come along with him. He then returned to his village and continued
going to the hills along with his sheep.
After some days, villagers gave him an idea. They told him
to accept whatever the voice told him.
It was the testing time for him. He replied to the voice and invited it
to come to the village along with him. The voice told him that it would come
but on the next new moon day night. He started to think over it. He was scared
to go alone. He wanted to take someone with him that day. The voice again told him that it was his wish
and can bring any number of people when he comes on the new moon day.
More than 90 members went to the hill on the night of the
new moon. As they reached the foot of the hill and near a huge boulder, many of
them fell asleep. They could not walk further. Only seven members including
Ramalingalippa were left out. As they started climbing the hill two of them
were left behind and just five of them could reach the top.
As they got closer, suddenly they saw a bright light appearing
at the top of the hill and coming downwards. It came closer and entered a small hole and
into the ground just in front of them. Ramalingalippa went ahead and put his
hand into the small hole. He got a bowl shaped small clay lamp. It was an old
oil lamp hidden in the mud and was made of clay. Ramalingappa was disappointed to
see the clay lamp after all the hard work. The clay lamp was covered with black
soil and was heavy. All the five reached the foot of the hill and showed the
clay lamp to the people gathered there. Men started quarreling with each other.
They thought it had some magical powers. At last elder people from the village
who came to the spot took the lamp from the men. They advised people not to
quarrel for it, but to find out what it is actually. They cleared the black
soil covering the clay lamp. At that moment they were shocked. There was a
golden idol of Goddess Adishakthi hidden in it. It was a small idol which weighed about one kilogram. All of them were worried about
the idol then. They were afraid that the government would seize the golden
idol. That night they decided to hide the idol and buried it in the mud in an empty
land. But no one approached them as the news spread.
 |
| oil lamp made of clay |
Next day morning everyone was shocked at the sight. The place where idol was hidden had a termite mound grown over it. Quickly they removed the idol from that place and took it for worshiping. They had made a temporary place to keep the idol for worship. Coconut leaf roof covered the top. Suddenly a few policemen came to the place. They were not able to say anything but stood very quiet before the goddess idol. They just prayed to the goddess and left. The Superintendent of Police who came there had something hidden in his mind. He wanted someone to stop his transfer which would take place the very next day. As he prayed to the goddess he pleaded her to fulfill his wish. And if the wish got fulfilled, then he would stand there and work as a volunteer. He was overjoyed to know that his prayers were heard and wish was fulfilled. From that day onwards he became one of the voluntary members to work before the goddess. Villagers built a temple for the goddess Adishakthi.
As per Karnataka Treasure Trove Act, the idol had to be
handed over to the government. But villagers were not in a position to give
away the idol to the Karnataka government. The goddess had decided to stay in
that village. Men from Deputy Commissioner’s office came to the temple one day.
They had made up their mind to seize the golden idol. A shocking incident occurred then and there, in
front of them. A cobra snake appeared suddenly and raised its hood. They could
not cross the deadly snake and reach the idol. Such was the power of the
goddess. They had no option but to go back empty handed.
For those people who wish to visit this holy place, by air can
reach Bangalore first, which is the nearest city. There are also trains to reach
Bangalore from Mangalore, Hubli, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai etc.
To read more topics on Cobra Stories click either on the link OLDER POSTS at the bottom or click on Blog Archive in the Side Bar. Author owns the
Copyrights of the content in this blog post. Copying in part or full of this
content if found will be dealt strictly.
