The two Bilwas

Aegle marmelos is called Bilwa, Vilwa or Bael in Indian languages. It is one of the most sacred trees according to Hinduism. The leaves of Bilwa are used in the Pūja of Lord Shiva. The Shivalinga is also adorned with garland of Bilwa leaves. For Nāgavanshi Nairs, worshipping Lord Shiva, Goddess Shakti and Nāga Devatas are more important than having food. Once in a year we offer special Pūja to Nāga Devatas in nearest Temple of Lord Shiva. It is a must for us. It is performed by the priest of the Temple. We occasionally offer Pūjas in Shree Nāgaraja Temple in Mannārashāla of Alapuzha district by booking via phone. Once we decided to offer Pujas in Shree Nāgaraja Temple in Nāgarkovil of Kanyakumari district in the same way. After the Pūjas were offered, the very next day we saw a typical Bilwa plant in our garden. The shape of it's leaves resembled the hood of snake. This is the photo of that Bilwa. 

After that we again offered Pūjas in the same Temple. Again, the very next day we saw in our garden another Bilwa plant with different type of leaves. This is photo of that Bilwa. You can see that it's leaves are different from that of the previous one. Click on the photos to get enlarged view. 

We consider these two Bilwas very sacred. I never dared to go near these Bilwas after eating non-vegetarian food. When we decided to sell our house, we decided to give these two Bilwas to the famous Shree Vadakkunnāthan Mahādeva Temple which is situated in the heart of Thrissur city. We took the two Bilwa plants to the Temple and dedicated them in the front of the shrine of Lord Shiva. After that the Temple employees told us that they will plant these two Bilwas in the curtilage of the Temple. 

Is there a connection between Kheer Bhawāni Temple and Nainativu Nāgabhooshani Amman Temple?

The Kheer Bhawāni Temple of Kashmir is dedicated to Goddess Shree Rājarājeshwari. The Temple is Situated 25 kms from Srinagar, and 5 kms from Ganderbal. The name Rājarājeshwari means 'Supreme Ruler' or 'Universal Ruler'. It is believed that Goddess Shree Rājarājeshwari resides there in the form of a Divine Serpent. She is also also known as Shree Ksheera Bhawāni Devi or Mata Kheer Bhawāni Jee. Lord Shiva is worshipped in this Temple as 'Bhooteshwara'. The name Bhooteshwara means 'the Lord of five elements'. The five elements according to Hinduism are land, sky, air, water and fire.
The Idol of the Goddess and Lord Shiva are placed in a beautiful marble Temple in the midst of a Holy Spring whose water change it's colours into rosy red, turquoise green, pale lemon, sky blue, milky white or pure white from time to time. When any calamity has to befall on the people of the Kashmir, the spring at Kheer Bhawāni Temple changes its colour to black. 
Legend has it that, pleased with the worship by King Ravana of Sri Lanka the Goddess appeared before him. He built a Temple for her. She was later displeased by King Ravana's vicious ways. When Lord Ram defeated King Ravana Goddess showed her desire to establish a new Temple for her in Kashyapabhoomi, that is, Kashmir. It is further believed that she came along with 360 Nāgās. 
Jyeshtha Ashtami is the most popular festival of this Temple. Jyeshta Ashtami falls on the eight day of Shukla Paksha(the span of waxing moon) in the month of Jyeshta according to Hindu Vedic calendar. To celebrate this birthday festival of Goddess, people from adjoining hill areas assemble in large number at the shrine and offer prayers and worships at lotus feet of Goddess. Milk Kheer, a dish made by boiling rice in milk, is prepared on this day and is offered to the Goddess. The hill-folk also sing hymns and songs in praise of the Goddess. 

I think the Sri Lankan Temple which is mentioned in the legend of Goddess Kheer Bhawani is the Temple of Shree Nāgabhooshani Amman. It is situated in the island called Nainativu. The word Nāgabhooshani means 'She who is adorned with snakes'. In this Temple, the Goddess is worshipped as both Nāgabhooshani and Bhuvaneshwari. Lord Shiva is worshipped in this Temple as 'Rakteshwara'. The name Rakteshwara literally means 'the Lord of blood'. My personal experience is that sometimes after praying to Goddess Nāgabhooshani Amman when I talk a hissing sound comes from my mouth. 
Antiquarians believe that the northern area of Sri Lanka was inhabited in ancient times by the Nāgā race and some of their forms of worship has prevailed to this day. 
Legend of the Temple states that two traders, Manayakan and Mahasathavan, observed a cobra with a flower in it's mouth swimming in the sea towards in the island of Nainativu where it worshipped at a shrine. This shrine was later enlarged and enhanced by Shri.Veeraswamy Chettiar into an impressive temple with 7 Prakara and enshrining both Goddess and Lord Shiva. After the arrival of the Portuguese, this temple was demolished in 1620. The new Temple was built in the year 1788 and the Gopuram was added in 1935. The most important festival of this Temple is 'Ther Thiruvizha(तेर् तिरुविज्ष्या)' which means 'chariot festival'. This 16 day festival celebrated every year during the month of Aani(June-July) according to Hindu Tamil calendar. 

I have not visited either of these Temples. But when I read the legends, I felt that these two Temples are related to each other. What I am trying to find is that, if my assumption is true, when the Idol Goddess Ksheera Bhawani was taken to Kashmir from Sri Lanka, who installed the new idol of Goddess in the Temple of Sri Lanka. 


Referrence: Cultural heritage of Jammu and Kashmir edited by Kulbhushan Warikoo, When My Valley Was Green By Kanwar K Kaul, Fasts and Festivals of India By Manish Verma, The Rough Guide to Sri Lanka by Rough Guides, Encyclopaedia of Oriental Philosophy and Religion: Hinduism : S-Z Front Cover by Nagendra Kr Singh, A. P. Mishra, The Hindu Legacy to Sri Lanka by Nirmala Ramachandran 

Nāgās in Vedās and Purānas

First Nāgavanshis are believed to be the children of Maharishi Kashyapa and Princess Kadru, the daughter of King Daksha. The origin of Nāgavansha or Nāgā dyansty is believed to be from Kashmir. According to Sarpapāttus of Kerala, Princess Kadru had given birth to one thousand Nāgās on the day of Āyilyam(Asleshā) nakshatra in the month of Kanni. The month of Kanni or Kanya is from Kanya Sankranti to Tula Sankranti according to Malayalam calendar. Āyilya Pῡja of Asleshā Pῡja is one the important offerings in Nāgā Temples of Kerala. 

In Vedas

The Serpent propitiating Autsric races which in Rigvedā are identified as Ahis(अहि) also came to be known as Nāgās in Vedic and post Vedic literature. There is a mention of Admaka Nāgā in Rigvedā who is known to have been one of the leaders of Nāgās. There are many Nāgā Rishis who were seers of Vedic Mantras, such as Arbudkadraveya Nāgā (Rigveda 10/49), Jatakarna Erwata (Rigveda 10/76) and Sarparajni (Rigveda 10/183). There have been Nāgā dynasties, such as Sisunga etc. 
The two seals of Indus valley demonstrate the Serpent worship. In Yajurvedā and Atharvavedā we get the reference of Serpent worship. Ratharvi(रथर्वी) is a Nāgā mentioned in Atharvavedā. Ratharvi means one who moves as fast as a chariot. In the Atharvavedā, the Nāgās, because of the location of their settlements in the mountainous north, have been called as Devajana also and grouped together with other mountainous tribes viz the Gandharvās, the Kinnarās, and the Yakshās etc. The Nāgās rose to prominence in certain pockets where they establish their republics. 
Atharvavedā, Taittriya Samhitā, Chhāndogyopanishad and Griha Sutrās mention about the Serpent worshippers, who are described as a tribe. Other Purānas also confirm that Nāgās were a powerful race. 

In Vishnupurāna 

In Vishnupurāna, twelve prominent Nāgās are mentioned. They are Shesha, Vasuki, Takshaka, Shankha, Shveta, Mahpadma, Kanvala, Ashvatara, Elapatra, Naga, Karkotaka, and Dhannajaya. The Padmapurana mentions a few other names, viz. Anant, Mahabala, Nagendra, Padma, Kulika, and Aparajita. 
The Nāgās supported both Devās and Asurās depending upon their relations with them. Shesha and Vasuki Nāgās were the allies of Lord Vishnu. Some of the Nāgā girls married the Devās. Purukutsa son of Mandhata had married Narmadā, a Nāgā girl. 

In Rāmāyana

In Rāmāyana, there is a mention about a city of Nāgās called Bhogavati. It is described as follows, "The broad roads are impenetrable and are protected on all sides. They are protected by terrible Serpents who have sharp fangs that are full of great poison. King Vāsuki, extremely terrible king of Nāgās resides there." 

In Mahabhārata

According to Mahabhārta, Gandhara was a Nāgā kingdom and it was ruled by King Shakuni. His sister was Princess Gāndhari. She was married to King Dhritarāshtra of Hastināpura. Princess Ulūpi was the widowed daughter of King Kauravya who belonged to Nāgā dynasty. She was remarried to Prince Arjuna. 

Mathurā and Champāvati

There is a description of two Nāgā cities in the Purānās. They are Mathurā and Champāvati. According to that description, nine Nāgās ruled over Champāvati and seven ruled over Mathurā.  

Arbud(अर्बुद) 

Arbud was a mighty Nāgā ruler. When Janamejaya started the Sarpasatra as described in Mahabharata, the Nāgās requested Sheshanāgā to show the way to save themselves, and pursuing his advice, approached Goddess Amba residing at Arbudāchal who gave them shelter. There were Nāgā colonies in Marwar, north Gujarat, Lat and Saurashtra. Their chief capital was Pātāl, not the underworld, but a famous port on the western coast where the river Sindhu(Indus) meets the sea. Of the famous Nāgās, Vāsuki was ruling in Saurashtra, Karkotaka on the banks of river Tāpti, and Purukutsa in Lat on the river Narmadā. 
Arbud established his kingdom Arbudāranya and founded his capital at Arasanpur, so named because of the marble mines there. Goddess Amba was the ruling deity of this city and Lord Shiva also had abode in Koteshwar nearby. The city is believed to have been known up to 16th century and destroyed by an earthquake or some other natural calamity.  


Referrence: History Of Ancient India (a New Version) : From 7300 Bb To 4250 Bc by J.P. Mittal, Buddhist Art & Antiquities of Himachal Pradesh, Upto 8th Century A.D. by O. C. Handa, Omacanda Hāṇḍā, Ancient Communities of the Himalaya by Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Discovery of Prehistory Ancient India: Krishna & Radha by Dr. Jagat K. Motwani and The Valmiki Ramayana: Set of 3 Volumes by Bibek Debroy, Land and people of Indian states and union territories : (in 36 volumes). 33. Daman & Diu by Shankarlal C. Bhatt.