Avani – The birth place of Luv and Kush.
It was time to go to another day trip from Bangalore, this time to a place that I had not heard of at all before, yet had so much of spiritual significance associated with what I had read in the Ramayana.
The hitherto unknown town that we visited was called Avani, and I was surprised to know that this was the place where Lord Rama’s wife Sita gave birth to her twin sons Luv and Khush!
We first visited the Ramalingeshwar temple, and were astounded by the ancient architecture around us. I assumed it was a Rama temple because of the name and only later realized it was a Shiva temple, when there was no idol of Rama inside. I was told that this was the place where Lord Rama himself had installed the Shiva Linga after the battle with Luv and Khush.
On one side of the Ramalingeshwara temple were two smaller temples called the Lakshmanishwara temple and Shatrughanishwar temple and on the other side was the Bharatishwara temple, where the Shiva lingas were said to have been installed by Lord Rama three brothers respectively.
It seemed as if not many followers visited these smaller temples, yet the sculpted pillars and ceilings and figurines on the outer and inner walls were worth paying attention to. In front of the Ramalingeshwara temple was the Hanumanlingeshwara where I paid special attention to the sculpted elephants, horses and other celestial animals on the outer walls.
There was a Kalyana Mantapa or marriage hall at the entrance and we loved the ancient feel of the place. The water tank next to the temple merited some moments of silence in appreciation of this morning sight.
We walked on the street and visited a local silkworm breeding centre nearby and I was pleasantly surprised to actually get a cocoon for observation in detail.
Before we started our trek up the hills, I saw a huge chunk of raw granite stone taken from the mountain. Next to it were two huge stone pillars, one polished and one was unpolished granite. Looking at the workers struggling to move the pillars onsite of the modern equpipment, I wondered at how difficult it must have been in those days to to construct the huge ornate sculpted temples with their primitive equipments.
As it started raining slightly a young local boy made a conversation with us about having only one umbrella. The next thing that hit us was his pure infectious enthusiasm as he climbed up the slopes to give us ripe berries, he blew bubbles from a broken stem and created a makeshift umbrella with leaves!
But most importantly he became our self appointed guide for the day. He regaled us with legendary stories as he guided us on the trek up the hill. He first showed us Valmikis Ashram which was small cave with a sculpted image of Valmiki next to a rocky bed.
More interesting was the rocky enclave within which is supposed to be the place where Sitadevi is supposed to have given birth to her twin sons Luv and Khush. (the internet lists a place near Amritsar, another near Kanpur and Avani also as the possible birthplace of Luv and Khush).
We followed the sign boards and went to the cave where Sita lived. Here we saw the place where she kept her haldi-kumkum, her akshay Patra – vessel for continuous supply of food, and even her fingerprints on the rocks. But a first time sight for me was that of two Shiva lingas installed next to each other by Luv and Khush. We were asked to join our hands around the linga, to ensure a lifetime of excellent relationship with each other!
Next was the spot where Sita was supposed to have washed her clothes along with a lamp like cut in the rocks used probably to light up her surroundings! He showed us a round hole on the side of a giant rock which is supposed to be a key hole to Sita’s huge rocky suitcase!
Another huge rock summit was supposed to be the place where Sita watched her husband and sons in battle! Another water body was the place where Lakshman hit an arrow deep into the earth to draw water to quench Sitadevi’s thirst.
After a long trek up the hill, overlooking some wonderful view points, we finally reached the only temple dedicated only to Sitadevi! It is here the Sita decided to return to the bosom of Mother Earth. And from this point on the top of the hill we had an amazing view of the whole area!
We did not visit Jhabhavan temple in memory of the one who took the Satyaka jewel. We also saw the rock under which Sita is supposed to have rolled in pain, people believe that they can also be relieved from pain, if they roll under this rock. Also a lot if childless couples tie bangles or scarves to trees to ask for favours from Sitadevi here.
And finally we saw the spot where Luv and Khush had tied the ashwamedha yagna sacrificial horse, and by the end of this, I felt as if we were transported to another world.
But we soon came back to reality as we started our descent from the hill. Because of the continuous light drizzle the stone steps had become slippery and at some places I literally had to sit and slide down the slippery rocks to avoid slipping and falling down. Our guide Arun again went into the lotus pond to give us two lotus plants, and we tipped him generously for bringing so much of smiles in our lives.
So in 2018, do notice these simple smiling moments.Have a smiling year!
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