Benefits of Worshipping Araikasu Amman

June 20, 2023

Who is Araikasu Amman?

Araikasu Amman temple is in Rathnamangalam village, abutting the Vandalur-Kelambakkam road around 5 km from GST Road near Vandalur zoo in Chennai. It enshrines the Hindu goddess Araikasu Amman, who represents the village deity. The goddess is a form of Parvati. Here, she sits on a Peetam. She has four hands and wears a snake crown on her head with a crescent on top. She holds a goad and a spear in her hands.

This is the only temple in the state of Tamil Nadu where Araikasu Amman is the presiding deity. The temple is supposedly more than 2000 years old.

People who have lost or misplaced something pray to the goddess, as they believe that she will help them find the lost or misplaced objects. The main prasadam in the temple is jaggery and a coin with the emblem of the goddess. There is a Yantra here with 108 numbers etched on it. Devotees touch any one of the numbers to find out the outcome of what they want to know. Keeping a coin on which her image is engraved in the Pooja room is supposedly very auspicious and brings abundance to the family.

The lion is the goddess’ mount. The goddess is mostly attired in yellow clothes. During festivals, the Amman idol is carried on a lion vehicle around the temple premises. Also, the entire temple is decorated with flowers and lamps.

The Legend behind the Temple

The worship of female deities or Ammans has been part of the Dravidian culture since time immemorial. Pragadhambal is one such Amman, whose abode was at Thirugokarnam near Pudukkottai.

In ancient times, the rulers of Pudukkottai, one of the erstwhile princely states of Tamil Nadu, used to worship Goddess Pragadambal as their Ishta Devatha (favorite deity) in Tirugokarnam. During the Navaratri festival, there was the custom of giving rice, jaggery, and a coin – Araikasu - as Prasad. Thus Goddess Ambigai got the name Araikasu Amman. Once, a king lost a precious ornament, one of his family heirlooms, and he prayed to Amman to get back what he had lost. The goddess answered his prayer, and he got back the ornament. The delighted king performed a special Pooja to the goddess in gratitude. Soon, news of the incident spread all over the kingdom, and people began to worship the deity to recover the things they lost or misplaced due to their forgetfulness. One can also worship her to find loved ones who are missing.

Once the goddess grants the devotee’s wish, they offer a mala (garland) of lemons to the goddess and pay homage to her by chanting her Ashotram.

Another legend says that the Vijayanagar emperor, who was the ruler of Pudukkottai, lost an important document. Despite his best efforts, he could not find it. Then he prayed to Pragadhambal Amman for its recovery. Amman granted his wish, and he got back the lost document. The king was delighted, and, to express his gratitude, he embossed the image of Pragadambal on one side of a coin of Araikasu denomination. The coins were then distributed to his subjects during festive occasions.

In those days, the Araikasu coins had a semi-circular shape. From then onwards, people began to call the goddess Araikasu Amman, and people began to worship her for the recovery of lost/misplaced items.

Yet another story goes thus:

At the Lakshmi Kubera Temple near this Amman temple, the marriage of Kubera was performed every year. During one of these occasions, a very valuable ornament of Sri Lakshmi was misplaced. The Managing Trustee of the Lakshmi Kubera temple prayed to Araikasu Amman and promised to build a Peetam for the goddess if he got back the lost ornament. Later, the jewelry was found within the temple itself. He kept his promise by building a Peetam for Amman in Ratnamangalam itself near the Lakshmi Kubera temple in gratitude.

Today, the popularity of this temple has spread far and wide, even beyond the confines of Tamilnadu. Devotees from all over India come to this Peetam to seek Amman’s blessings and recover lost/misplaced items.

There have been reports of many incidents where devotees’ prayers were answered by Araikasu Amman. She has helped many recover lost things, money, and loved ones and also blessed them with happy marriages and progeny.

There is no other temple in Tamil Nadu for Araikasu Amman. But there are shrines for her in many Shakti temples. This temple was built especially for Araikasu Amman, who is the presiding deity. There is a Lakshmi Kubera temple near this temple. This temple’s unique feature is that it has 108 Amman (Goddess) idols in different forms and postures. These Amman forms are the presiding deities of different towns and villages in India and also abroad.

Festivals at the Temple

Special Poojas are conducted on Sundays, Tuesdays, Fridays, Pournami (full moon), and Amavasai (new moon) days. The annual feast is in the month of August. Navaratri, New Year, Panguni Uthiram, and Mangala Pooja are some of the other festivals.