Ezhimala Hill
Encyclopedia
Ezhimala (also known as Ezhimalai), a hill reaching a height of 286 metres, is located in Kannur District
of Kerala
, South India
. As the former capital of the ancient Mushika Kingdom
, it is considered to be an important historical site. It is a conspicuous, isolated cluster of hills, forming a promontory
38 km north of Kannur
Town. A flourishing seaport and center of trade around the beginning of the Common Era
, it was also one of the major battlefields of the Chola
-Chera
Wars of the 11th century. It is believed by some that Lord Buddha had visited Ezhimala. The hill was once known as Mount Delly by the English or Monte D'Ely by the Portuguese.
panchayath, is one of the most important places in the recorded history of North Kerala
. Mooshika Vamsham, written by Athulan in the 10th century, throws light on the history of the Mushika Royal Family
in particular and of North Kerala
in general. The first recorded king of Mooshika Vamsham (the Mooshika Dynasty
) was Ramaghata Mooshika, and his capital was Ezhimala.
Athulan describes the later kings of this dynasty, who are now better known as the Kolathiri Dynasty. King Ramaghata Mooshika's successors shifted their capital to Pazhi (the present-day village of Pazhayangadi), Valabhapattanam (Valapattanam), and other nearby places over the centuries.
Ezhimala has its origin linked to the most revered Epic of Ramayana origin dating back to the "Threthayuga". The story goes like this : In the Sree Rama - Ravana battle, Ravana and his entire troops used all kinds of unlawful acts to win the battle. At one stage of the battle, when none of their strategies worked, Ravana's son Indrajith decided to resort to unlawful means with single objective of winning the battle. At that stage of the battle, Ravana and his army lost all hopes of winning the holy war and decided to use their Maya Power (the power to vanish into thin air). Thus son of Ravana "Indrajith " vanished from the battle field and then started to use a very special missile called "Brahma". Apparently a Brahma missile can only be stopped with another Brahma missile and in this warfare's ensuing heat the whole world will end in the flames. To avoid such a catastrophe, Epic Lord, the reincarnation of the Supreme Lord, Sree Rama, decided not to counter the Brahma missile and bowed himself to the awesome power of the missile. Naturally it ended up making his entire entourage including his brother Lakshmana and other warriors and kings unconscious. The next morning, Ravana's brother "Vibhishna", who visited the battlefield, was shocked to see the devastating scene. He walked around to see if anybody is conscious in the whole field of corps lying across the battlefield and to his pleasure found "Jambhavan" who due to his special power was able to survive the onslaught unscathed. Jambhavan and Hanuman are immortal due to their specially gifted divine origins. They were very concerned about well being of Lord Rama and Lakshmana.
Jambavan knew that in the north, in the Himalayas
, there existed a small hill known as "Ishabhadri". In Ishabhadri, there was a divine herb, named "Mrithasanjeevani". It restored life once it was smelled by the deceased. Then the major challenge in front of them was to act fast failing which recovery would be impossible. They needed the help of a power that could fathom the long distance at high speed beating the deadline of time and bring the divine plant before dawn. Jambhavan through his transcendental powers knew that Sree Hanuman, the greatest disciple of Sree Ram was the only soul amongst them, that could achieve such a feat. With this understanding they rushed around the battlefield in distress and tears and to their relief found Sree Hanuman stuck in grief and sorrow. Jambhavan told Hanuman that he was the only one who could bring his master back into consciousness and told him about the plant and challenge of bringing it in time. Sree Hanuman was extremely delighted to do anything for his master and in no time, with his divine powers grew in to his huge size, raised himself up and flew heading to the north.
Removing all kinds of obstacles created by Ravana in Hanuman's path he finally reached the location as per the graphic explanation provided by Jambhavan. But the precious plant eluded his comprehension. Frustrated and confused in appreciation of the limitation of available time, Hanuman apparently lifted the whole mountain and flew back to Lanka.
As Sree Hanuman glided around the battlefield with the mountain in his hand, the whole entourage of King Sree Rama and both brothers got back their consciousness as they were able to breath the divine oxygen coming out of the Mrithasanjeevani. Sree Rama was delighted with the feat achieved by his greatest disciple Sree Hanuman. He embraced Sree Hanuman and blessed him abundantly. Is it said that to reach Sree Rama and Salvation, the best conduit is gaining the blessing of Sree Hanuman and such special status was achieved by Sree Hanuman from this great blessing of Sree Rama. Back into the story, while going back for putting the mountain in place, on the way small pieces of the mountain happened to drop away and fell in coastline of Kerala touching Payyannur, Ramanthali, Vengara, Payangali region. The pieces fell in seven segmented portions one touching the other and that was how the hill was born.
Needless to state that this is a piece of land dropped by the greatest divine soul Sree Hanuman. Being a part of the original divine Ishabhadri which had extraordinary herbal plants and trees, ancient Rishis and Yogis discovered the value of the place, and set up hermitages where they meditated and practiced their yogic life. Also a number of Vaidyas (doctors of olden days) practiced in this area and in the neighboring villages and across the state of Kerala using the herbal plants plucked from the Ezhimala hills. This ancient epic linked land is beautiful, blessed and its serene beauty is extremely stunning and soothing for anybody who happens to visit the place. In fact the famous Sree Narayana Loka Santhi center constituted by Sree Nithya Chaithnaya Yedi with his thousands of disciples from across the globe used to converge in this holy land and they also had an Ashram for a long time.
Putting up a divine temple at the top of this mountain was found to be a necessity and its establishment will be a blessing for whole of humanity as per the predictions. Now with the blessings of Swamy Hanuman, this noble project of the temple, Eye Hospital and Boarding School will come in to fruition and will spread the blessing of Swamy to the neighborhood and far.
and is a restricted area. The beach sand is of a different texture and the sea is bluer than in other areas. At the Ettikulam Bay, one can enjoy watching dolphins. Bordered by sea on three sides, Ezhimala had Indian Naval Ship (INS) Zamorin commissioned here marking Phase I of the Indian Naval Academy project, which was completed in January 2009.
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, inaugurated the Indian Naval Academy
in Ezhimala, Kerala on the 8th of January 2009. The Prime Minister's address on the occasion began with appreciation of this place "It is my profound pleasure to be present here today at this magnificent campus overlooking the Arabian Sea. There could not have been a better place for the establishment of India’s Naval Academy. I am therefore grateful to the Government of Kerala
for having made all this possible".
Kannur district
Kannur District is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. The town of Kannur is the district headquarters, and gives the district its name. The old name Cannanore is the anglicised form of the Malayalam name Kannur. Kannur District is bounded by Kasaragod District to the north and...
of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, South India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. As the former capital of the ancient Mushika Kingdom
Mushika Kingdom
Mushika Kingdom was an ancient kingdom of the Tamil Sangam age in present day northern Kerala, India ruled by the Royal dynasty of the same name. They ruled the strip of land between Mangaluru in the north and Vadagara in the south...
, it is considered to be an important historical site. It is a conspicuous, isolated cluster of hills, forming a promontory
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
38 km north of Kannur
Kannur
Kannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
Town. A flourishing seaport and center of trade around the beginning of the Common Era
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, it was also one of the major battlefields of the Chola
Chola Dynasty
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which was one of the longest-ruling in some parts of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by Asoka, of Maurya Empire; the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until...
-Chera
Chera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
Wars of the 11th century. It is believed by some that Lord Buddha had visited Ezhimala. The hill was once known as Mount Delly by the English or Monte D'Ely by the Portuguese.
Other names for Ezhimala
This region is also known as Elimala, Mooshaka Sailam (മൂഷക ശൈലം) and Sapta Sailam.History
Ezhimala, which is part of RamanthaliRamanthali
Ramanthali is a village in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala.It boasts the gateway for Indian Naval Academy in Ezhiamala.-Demographics: India census, Ramanthali had a population of 21937 with 10173 males and 11764 females....
panchayath, is one of the most important places in the recorded history of North Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. Mooshika Vamsham, written by Athulan in the 10th century, throws light on the history of the Mushika Royal Family
Mushika Kingdom
Mushika Kingdom was an ancient kingdom of the Tamil Sangam age in present day northern Kerala, India ruled by the Royal dynasty of the same name. They ruled the strip of land between Mangaluru in the north and Vadagara in the south...
in particular and of North Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
in general. The first recorded king of Mooshika Vamsham (the Mooshika Dynasty
Mushika Kingdom
Mushika Kingdom was an ancient kingdom of the Tamil Sangam age in present day northern Kerala, India ruled by the Royal dynasty of the same name. They ruled the strip of land between Mangaluru in the north and Vadagara in the south...
) was Ramaghata Mooshika, and his capital was Ezhimala.
Athulan describes the later kings of this dynasty, who are now better known as the Kolathiri Dynasty. King Ramaghata Mooshika's successors shifted their capital to Pazhi (the present-day village of Pazhayangadi), Valabhapattanam (Valapattanam), and other nearby places over the centuries.
Ramayana and Ezhimala
Ezhimala and its valleys constitute Ramanthali Village, a beautiful landscape adjacent to the famous Payyannur Town in Kannur District, Kerala State, where Perumal Temple is situated. It lies as a separate island surrounded by almost 3/5 by river streams and 2/5 by Arabian Sea. The beauty of the area is such that each side of the mountain drops down as breathtaking greenish valleys and then glides into the sea on one side and river streams on the other. The serene beauty gives profound joy to anybody standing on the top and looking to the west and sighting the white foamy waves gliding on the land as if washing the feet of the divine hill or looking to the east and setting sight on the most stunning heavenly greenish landscapes spread below the hill and climbing up to the Sahya mountains... Such virgin beauty is rarely to be found else where.Ezhimala has its origin linked to the most revered Epic of Ramayana origin dating back to the "Threthayuga". The story goes like this : In the Sree Rama - Ravana battle, Ravana and his entire troops used all kinds of unlawful acts to win the battle. At one stage of the battle, when none of their strategies worked, Ravana's son Indrajith decided to resort to unlawful means with single objective of winning the battle. At that stage of the battle, Ravana and his army lost all hopes of winning the holy war and decided to use their Maya Power (the power to vanish into thin air). Thus son of Ravana "Indrajith " vanished from the battle field and then started to use a very special missile called "Brahma". Apparently a Brahma missile can only be stopped with another Brahma missile and in this warfare's ensuing heat the whole world will end in the flames. To avoid such a catastrophe, Epic Lord, the reincarnation of the Supreme Lord, Sree Rama, decided not to counter the Brahma missile and bowed himself to the awesome power of the missile. Naturally it ended up making his entire entourage including his brother Lakshmana and other warriors and kings unconscious. The next morning, Ravana's brother "Vibhishna", who visited the battlefield, was shocked to see the devastating scene. He walked around to see if anybody is conscious in the whole field of corps lying across the battlefield and to his pleasure found "Jambhavan" who due to his special power was able to survive the onslaught unscathed. Jambhavan and Hanuman are immortal due to their specially gifted divine origins. They were very concerned about well being of Lord Rama and Lakshmana.
Jambavan knew that in the north, in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, there existed a small hill known as "Ishabhadri". In Ishabhadri, there was a divine herb, named "Mrithasanjeevani". It restored life once it was smelled by the deceased. Then the major challenge in front of them was to act fast failing which recovery would be impossible. They needed the help of a power that could fathom the long distance at high speed beating the deadline of time and bring the divine plant before dawn. Jambhavan through his transcendental powers knew that Sree Hanuman, the greatest disciple of Sree Ram was the only soul amongst them, that could achieve such a feat. With this understanding they rushed around the battlefield in distress and tears and to their relief found Sree Hanuman stuck in grief and sorrow. Jambhavan told Hanuman that he was the only one who could bring his master back into consciousness and told him about the plant and challenge of bringing it in time. Sree Hanuman was extremely delighted to do anything for his master and in no time, with his divine powers grew in to his huge size, raised himself up and flew heading to the north.
Removing all kinds of obstacles created by Ravana in Hanuman's path he finally reached the location as per the graphic explanation provided by Jambhavan. But the precious plant eluded his comprehension. Frustrated and confused in appreciation of the limitation of available time, Hanuman apparently lifted the whole mountain and flew back to Lanka.
As Sree Hanuman glided around the battlefield with the mountain in his hand, the whole entourage of King Sree Rama and both brothers got back their consciousness as they were able to breath the divine oxygen coming out of the Mrithasanjeevani. Sree Rama was delighted with the feat achieved by his greatest disciple Sree Hanuman. He embraced Sree Hanuman and blessed him abundantly. Is it said that to reach Sree Rama and Salvation, the best conduit is gaining the blessing of Sree Hanuman and such special status was achieved by Sree Hanuman from this great blessing of Sree Rama. Back into the story, while going back for putting the mountain in place, on the way small pieces of the mountain happened to drop away and fell in coastline of Kerala touching Payyannur, Ramanthali, Vengara, Payangali region. The pieces fell in seven segmented portions one touching the other and that was how the hill was born.
Needless to state that this is a piece of land dropped by the greatest divine soul Sree Hanuman. Being a part of the original divine Ishabhadri which had extraordinary herbal plants and trees, ancient Rishis and Yogis discovered the value of the place, and set up hermitages where they meditated and practiced their yogic life. Also a number of Vaidyas (doctors of olden days) practiced in this area and in the neighboring villages and across the state of Kerala using the herbal plants plucked from the Ezhimala hills. This ancient epic linked land is beautiful, blessed and its serene beauty is extremely stunning and soothing for anybody who happens to visit the place. In fact the famous Sree Narayana Loka Santhi center constituted by Sree Nithya Chaithnaya Yedi with his thousands of disciples from across the globe used to converge in this holy land and they also had an Ashram for a long time.
Putting up a divine temple at the top of this mountain was found to be a necessity and its establishment will be a blessing for whole of humanity as per the predictions. Now with the blessings of Swamy Hanuman, this noble project of the temple, Eye Hospital and Boarding School will come in to fruition and will spread the blessing of Swamy to the neighborhood and far.
Indian Naval Academy
There is a famous temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman and the Mount Deli Lighthouse also located here. It is maintained by the Indian NavyIndian Navy
The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...
and is a restricted area. The beach sand is of a different texture and the sea is bluer than in other areas. At the Ettikulam Bay, one can enjoy watching dolphins. Bordered by sea on three sides, Ezhimala had Indian Naval Ship (INS) Zamorin commissioned here marking Phase I of the Indian Naval Academy project, which was completed in January 2009.
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, inaugurated the Indian Naval Academy
Indian Naval Academy
The Indian Naval Academy is the initial officer training establishment of the Indian Navy, located in Ezhimala, Kerala. Situated between Mount Dilli and the Kavvayi backwaters, NAVAC has a 7 km beach front on the Arabian Sea. It conducts basic training for all officers inducted into the...
in Ezhimala, Kerala on the 8th of January 2009. The Prime Minister's address on the occasion began with appreciation of this place "It is my profound pleasure to be present here today at this magnificent campus overlooking the Arabian Sea. There could not have been a better place for the establishment of India’s Naval Academy. I am therefore grateful to the Government of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
for having made all this possible".
How to reach there
- Nearest town is RamanthaliRamanthaliRamanthali is a village in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala.It boasts the gateway for Indian Naval Academy in Ezhiamala.-Demographics: India census, Ramanthali had a population of 21937 with 10173 males and 11764 females....
about 2 km. - Nearest railway station is at PayyanurPayyanurPayyanur is a Municipal Town situated at the northern end of Kannur district in North Malabar region of Kerala, India. This Municipality consists of three administrative villages viz. Vellur, Korom and Payyannur. Other villages are; Annur and Kokkanissery....
- 8 km - Nearest airport is at bajpeBajpeBajpe is a census town in located close to Mangalore city in Dakshina Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is around 18 km from the heart of the city of Mangalore. The Mangalore International Airport is located at Bajpe and is popularly known as the Bajpe...
, mangaloreMangaloreMangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
- 145 km
See also
- RamanthaliRamanthaliRamanthali is a village in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala.It boasts the gateway for Indian Naval Academy in Ezhiamala.-Demographics: India census, Ramanthali had a population of 21937 with 10173 males and 11764 females....
- KannurKannurKannur , also known as Cannanore, is a city in Kannur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the District of Kannur and 518km north of state capital Trivandrum. During British rule in India, Kannur was known by its old name Cannanore, which is still in...
- PayyanurPayyanurPayyanur is a Municipal Town situated at the northern end of Kannur district in North Malabar region of Kerala, India. This Municipality consists of three administrative villages viz. Vellur, Korom and Payyannur. Other villages are; Annur and Kokkanissery....
- Mushika KingdomMushika KingdomMushika Kingdom was an ancient kingdom of the Tamil Sangam age in present day northern Kerala, India ruled by the Royal dynasty of the same name. They ruled the strip of land between Mangaluru in the north and Vadagara in the south...
- North MalabarNorth MalabarNorth Malabar , is a historic as well as geographic distinction in India used to refer the area covering; present Kasaragod and Kannur Districts, Mananthavady taluk of Wayanad District and Koyilandy & Vatakara taluks of Kozhikode District in modern Kerala and the entire Mahé sub-Division of...
- Malabar (Northern Kerala)
- KeralaKeralaor Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
- Kannur DistrictKannur districtKannur District is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. The town of Kannur is the district headquarters, and gives the district its name. The old name Cannanore is the anglicised form of the Malayalam name Kannur. Kannur District is bounded by Kasaragod District to the north and...
- Indian Naval AcademyIndian Naval AcademyThe Indian Naval Academy is the initial officer training establishment of the Indian Navy, located in Ezhimala, Kerala. Situated between Mount Dilli and the Kavvayi backwaters, NAVAC has a 7 km beach front on the Arabian Sea. It conducts basic training for all officers inducted into the...