TamilNadu | Beaches | Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari, the popular tourist place, has the proud distinction of being the Indian Land's end and the picturesque meeting place of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. A temple dedicated to the virgin goddess Kanyakumari, an imposing memorial to Swami Vivekananda on a mid-sea rock and a magnificent view of the sunrise, sunset and moonrise lure thousands of tourists round the year. A dip in the confluence of the three seas here is considered holy. Kanyakumari is the only place in the country where one can witness, from the same spot, the unique spectacle of sunset and moonrise in the full-moon evening, almost simultaneously. Though sunrise can be seen round the year, the sunset is visible only from October 15 to March 15, the five month period covering the latter part of Dakshinayan and the early part of Utharayan

The Kanyakumari Temple
The main entrance to the temple is through the northern gate ,while the deity is facing the east .The eastern gate is always kept closed ,excepting on special occastions when the festival deity is taken out for the ceremonial bath.
After a walk around the outer corridor and crossing and Navarathri Mandapam,the pathway leads to the second corridor encircling the shrine.At the entrance here, after worshipping Kala Bhairava and crossing the well(known as pathala Ganga theertha),the devotees reach the Dhwajasthamba(flagmast). From here one can have a clear view of the Devi before going in front of the sanctum sanctorum.
The Devi stands as a charming young girl in her penance with a rosary in her right hand,and a sparkling nose jewel that sheds lustrous radiance.The image ,made of blue stone ,is believed to have been installed by sage parasurama.
After worshipping the Goddess ,the pilgrims enter the inner corridor,where they can have the darshan of Indra Vinayak.There is also a small shrine dedicated to thyaga Soundari.

The temple is open to the public from 4.30a.m to 11.45 a.m and again from 5.30p.m to 8.45p.m.

The main Vaisaka festival in the temple is during the Tamil month of vaikasi(May-June).
The deity is taken out in a procession through the main streets both in thr morning and in night.
The car festival is on the ninth day and the float festival on the concluding day.
The Navarathri Festival is conducted during September-October to commemorate the Banasura incident .The deity is taken out in a procession from the temple to Mahadanapuram,four km. north of kanyakumari.The Parivettai, performed by the pujaris on the occasion, is a reenactment of the Goddess-Banasura battle.

Swami Vivekananda Rock Memorial

An impressive memorial to Swami Vivekananda has been erected on a rock situated some 200 metres offshore.In fact ,there are two rocks side by side projecting out of the sea. In the year 1892, Swami Vivekananda came down to kanyakumari and sat in meditation on one of these twin rocks before he set out abroad as india's leading religious crusader.The memorial, inaugurated in 1970,is an indian architectural masterpiece.The entire Memorial Mandapam is similar to that of sri RamaKrishna Temple at Belur, and the entrance is designed on the Ajanta and Ellora cave temples'style.
Below the dome in the main hall there is a life-size bronze statue of the Swamiji in his standing parivrajak posture .Adjoining the main hall is the Dhyana Mandapam, where devotees can sit and meditate in a calm atmosphere.
The rock on which the memorial stands has, in puranic tradition, been known as the Shripada Parai.(This in Tamil means the rock that has been blessed by the feet of the Goddess ).On this rock there is a small projection resembling the human foot , which has been revered as a symbol of the shripadam.Accoding to a legend, it was on this rock that Goddess kanya did her penance .
The special significance and sanctity attached to this rock might have prompted Swami Vivekananda, an ardent devotee of kali and Durga, to venture across the sea for his long meditation.
Another belief has been that the original Kumari Temple was built on this rock or somewhere near it and the rock itself was part of the mainland. The sea might have encroached upon the mainland and turned the rock into an island,resulting in the shifting of the old temple and rebuilding it on its present site.
Ferry services to the Rock Memorial are available from 8 a.m to 4 p.m.

Mahatma Gandhi Memorial
This is a memorial, constructed in orissa style in the year 1956 on the shores at a place where the urn containing the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi was kept for public darshan on 12th February, 1948, before immersion. The architecture of the memorial is such that the rays of the sun at noon on Gandhiji's birthday, 2nd October, fall through a hole on the roof,on the spot where the urn was kept.