If Spiderman was taken to the unique temple village of Kodumon in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, he wouldn’t have become the masked avenger. For, at this temple devotees throng to get relieved from spider bites. The presiding deity here is Vanadurga, a pagan goddess of the forests and her day of worship is mainly Sundays. The majority of those who seek her blessings are women. They come with the purpose to ward off spider-bites or to receive the medicinal prasadam which is purported to be a cure for arachnoid issues.
Sarojini of Kundara in Kollam district says that her eight-year-old daughter, Reshma, was healed of a spider bite in five days after taking the prasadam offered by the priest. “The wound marks completely vanished after the bhasmam (ashes) given as part of the prasadam was applied,” says Sarojini.
Meanwhile, 70-year-old Kesava Panicker of Cherthala in Alappuzha district underwent treatment in a hospital near his house for a poisonous spider bite for three days after he was attacked. He failed to get any relief. Hearing the story of a neighbour, who was healed after a similiar problem, Panicker received succour from the temple.
The ‘Chilanthi Ambalam’ (spider temple), as it is called, is said to be 1,300 -year-old. The temple was erected by Sakthibhadran, a local king, who was also a contemporary of Adi Sankara. The temple is associated with King Ravindran Vikraman, king of Chenneerkara Swaroopam, a small sovereign state, whose two daughters died of small pox. His third daughter started to meditate in the palliyara (royal chamber) and she always had spiders on her body. After she attained samadhi, the palliyara was opened and an idol of the goddess as a spider was found. Devotees, who seek the prasadam for the spider-bites, have to first approach the melsanthi (head priest). After performing poojas in the name of the bite-victim, the melsanthi offers prasadam, consisting of bhasmam, plantain fruit, and theertham (holy water) from the well, to the bite-victim.
Those with deep wounds from spider bites are given prasadam for a period of one week. The bhasmam is smeared all over the body.
“The devotees have unflinching faith in the goddess thanks to being completely cured by worshiping at the temple,” says Melsanthi Madhavan Potti. “They narrate their problems caused by the bites to me and seek the blessings of the Goddess as well as the prasadam.” Devotees believe that any skin ailment caused by spider venom can be cured by offering puffed rice to the goddess. There is also a spider well (Chilanthi Kinar) whose water is believed to have miraculous properties and can cure patients afflicted with various skin diseases as well.
Of late, devotees from other states have started arriving at the temple. “The fame of the temple has spread by word of mouth, and people from neighbouring Tamil Nadu have started coming,” says Raghunath, an employee of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which oversees the temple. “During Sabarimala pilgrimage season, the flow is heavy.”