Navakandam

Navakandam Ritual

Navakandam is the act of sacrificing oneself by cutting nine veins or nine body parts in one’s body. This practice of sacrificing oneself existed in Tamil Nadu from the 11th to the 13th century. Generally, one sacrifices oneself to the goddess Kotravai. This Navakandam sacrifice is mentioned in temple inscriptions, Silappadhikaram, Kalingathup Bharani, and Takkayakap Bharani literatures.

Some Siddhas have adopted a practice called ‘Navakanda Yoga’. ‘Navakanda Yoga’ means dividing one’s body into nine parts and performing yoga while remembering Shiva.

The people who witnessed this Siddha practice were shocked. The history of various Siddhas states that after the Siddhas returned in their full form, they accepted him as Siddhas and worshipped him.

There are several reasons for giving this type of peculiar act:

When faced with a war with a powerful enemy, the grace of the gods is sought at times when there is no chance of victory. Navakanda was given in the belief that if one sacrifices to Durga, one will receive the grace of the gods.

Sometimes, a king who was bedridden due to ill health was given Navakanda by his loved ones to restore his health.

A person who is facing death due to illness, not wanting to die due to illness but wanting to attain the heaven of heroes, gives himself up to the Navakandam.

When a criminal is sentenced to death for a crime he has committed, he does not die, but is given the Navakandam with the permission of the king and reaches the heaven of heroes.

When a person is about to die from a war wound or illness, if he has any duties to complete, he should pray to God to postpone his death. If that happens, he should offer alms to the Lord once that duty is completed.

The morning after a person has suffered a great humiliation, he decides to die, not wanting to live, not wanting to die like a coward, but preferring to die as a hero and giving himself up to the world.

Just as important people now have cat guards, at that time the Cholas had an organization called “Velakara Paadhikal” and the Pandyas had an army called “Tennavan Paadhikal”. These were the people who took a vow to sacrifice themselves by cutting off their own heads in the presence of Durga if the king’s life was in danger due to their carelessness or disobedience.

But in later times, for the construction of temples , the continuation of the banned chariot race, and other reasons, the lower castes were forced to give Navakandam to the upper castes. Even lower caste women and children were involved in this.

The custom of sacrificing oneself for the sake of a wish has existed in Tamil Nadu. Inscriptions and sculptures about this are widely found here. This tradition has been around in Tamil Nadu since ancient times. There are also references in Sangam literature to people who cut off their heads to fulfil their wishes before a god , especially in Kalingathupbarani, where a hero cut off his head to achieve the victory of the Chola kingdom. Similarly, there was a custom of cutting off one’s own head as a punishment.

Information about Navakanda sculptures found in Tamil Nadu is given below:

A Navakanda sculpture has been installed near the statues of the virgins in the prakaram of the Thiruvasi Bhairaivaradeeswarar temple.

There is a Navakanda sculpture in front of the Thirumukudalur Analateeswarar Temple , but its head has been cut off. There are many Navakanda sculptures in front of the Penneswara Temple in the Penneswara Math, Krishnagiri district.

On the way from Madurai to Rameswaram , 18 km from Madurai, there is the Madapuram Kali Temple on the north bank of the Vaigai River. On the south bank is Thiruppuvanam. In this town, in an area called “Pudur”, there is a sculpture of a young man giving a new land. There is a Navakanda idol in the Vinayagar temple near the Palani Periya Nayakiamman Temple.

I have read about the act of doing Navakandam in various Tamil Historical books and in that it was mentioned that the strange act of offering themselves as human sacrifice by the people, especially by the warriors, was being mostly done during the period of the great king Sri Raja Raja Chola.

Sometimes out of my own personal problems, even I used to think to perform Navakandam (To offer myself) to my Kula Devi Ma Angalamman, but however I would console myself that I would lead a better life in my near future with the grace of Ma Angalamma.

“OM SRI ANGALAMMANE THUNAI”

COMPILED BY,
R. HARISHANKAR