Friday, March 9, 2012

Musukunda Chakravarthy

Period: Before 3rd century BC; no historical records

Musukunda Chakravarthy was a mythological king; he was believed to have ruled Chola kingdom from Karur city. As per certain Hindu Puranas such as Vishnu Purana and Skanda Purana, he had monkey face and human body.

He helped Devendra, the Lord of Devas, in a battle and became his friend. As a token of appreciation, he got seven Shiv Linga idols from Indira. He installed them in seven places in South India. Those sites are called as 'Saptavidanga Sthalam'.

As per the mythology, Indira sent a bhooth (ghost) to serve Musukundan. The bhooth served in a market place in Poompuhar city. It was believed that it used to punish the citizens if they missed to celebrate 'Indira Vizha' (festival to Indira) every year. The ghost was named as 'Nalangadi Bhootham'.

The references about this king are found in ancient books such as Silappadikaram, Manimegalai, Oru Thurai Kovai, etc.

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