Incredible Stories From Incredible India
An inconspicuous platform sits by the road near Thottada in Kannur. The structure may not, architecturally, resemble a temple. Even the circular sanctum sanctorum is different from those in temples constructed in the recent past. Though there is no idol, believers feel the invisible presence of the presiding deity, Urumbachan or Father Ant, who helps fight an army that invades all homes — ants.For local residents, the temple of ants is Urumbachan Gurusthanam. The faithful offer coconuts to Urumbachan, to free their residences of ants without using any insecticide. The belief dates back to several centuries, though there is no historical evidence. The Gurusthanam is associated with the nearby Udayamangalam Ganapathy temple, considered to be the second important Ganesha mandapams in Kolathunadu.
According to local legend, the original plan was to construct a Ganapathy temple, where the Gurusthanam now stands.
“The carpenter fixed a stick at the site,” said M Narayanan, a former office bearer of the temple’s devaswom, managed by the Chaliya community.
“The next morning, the stick was not seen and an anthill had come up at the spot where it was fixed. The stick was later found a few hundred metres away,” he said. Taking it as the wish of the gods, the Ganapathy temple was constructed where the stick was found. “A circular platform—the sanctum sanctorum—was built around the anthill,” Narayanan said. After the appearance of the anthill, the local residents started worshipping the eusocial insect, believing that the ants had replaced the stick.
“Though the lamp is lit at the Gurusthanam every evening by residents of a nearby house, pujas are performed only on the ‘Samkrama’ and other special
days,” said Jenuayichankandy Janardhanan, a local resident.
He added that people from even far off places offer coconuts to Urumbachan to get rid of ant menace. As a strict practice,
we don’t kill or hurt ants,” Janardhanan added. It is believed that the place has the holy presence of Lord Subramanya and hence the temple’s annual festival is held on ‘Karthika’ in ‘Vrischikam’.
According to local legend, the original plan was to construct a Ganapathy temple, where the Gurusthanam now stands.
“The carpenter fixed a stick at the site,” said M Narayanan, a former office bearer of the temple’s devaswom, managed by the Chaliya community.
“The next morning, the stick was not seen and an anthill had come up at the spot where it was fixed. The stick was later found a few hundred metres away,” he said. Taking it as the wish of the gods, the Ganapathy temple was constructed where the stick was found. “A circular platform—the sanctum sanctorum—was built around the anthill,” Narayanan said. After the appearance of the anthill, the local residents started worshipping the eusocial insect, believing that the ants had replaced the stick.
“Though the lamp is lit at the Gurusthanam every evening by residents of a nearby house, pujas are performed only on the ‘Samkrama’ and other special
days,” said Jenuayichankandy Janardhanan, a local resident.
He added that people from even far off places offer coconuts to Urumbachan to get rid of ant menace. As a strict practice,
we don’t kill or hurt ants,” Janardhanan added. It is believed that the place has the holy presence of Lord Subramanya and hence the temple’s annual festival is held on ‘Karthika’ in ‘Vrischikam’.
