Kannyakumari!

On 17th October we left Trivendram and set for Kanyakumari, it was the last stage of our tour. On our way we stopped at Narayan Swami Temple. It took us to three and half hour to reach our destination. After lunch we went the most visited destination of Kanyakumari, the Vivekananda Rock. We had the chance to spent over four hours and the stay was worth more than we thought.

Kanyakumari is a town in Kanyakumari District in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is also known as Cape Comorin.  Cape Comorin lies at the southernmost tip of mainland India 

Swami Vivekananda & Vivekananda Rock

Swami Vivekananda,  when first visited the temple of Kanyakumari  and prayed and meditated for a while. He then came out and stood on the oceanside, gazing at the sea. Some two furlongs away he saw two large rocks. According to the Puranas, the larger and farther of these two rocks is the one that has been sanctified by the blessed feet of the Divine Mother. Swamiji was seized with the desire to reach those rocks. He asked a few boatmen whether he could be ferried to the rock. They were ready to take him. Without much ado, Swamiji plunged into the roaring waves and swam across. The experienced boatmen were shocked to see him do this and screamed out to him to return to the shore. They warned him of the stormy waves and the sharks in the ocean. But Swamiji swam safely across and stepped onto the rock. He spent three days and three nights mediating on that rock.

Vivekananda Rock is about a hundred meters from the shore and a regular ferry service exists between the mainland jetty and the rock. The tickets are Rs 30 for a ride. Normally you will find a lot of people waiting in the queue during holiday season, so there's a legitimate way of by passing the queue by paying Rs 150 , they take you directly inside the ferry, no waiting. The Rock has two halls; one belonging to Swami Vivekananda and the other belonging to a Holy Foot. The Holy Foot is a foot shaped carving found on the rock and is believed to be the footprint of Goddess Kumari who stood on this rock on one leg and performed the penance. The Rock memorial has a tall statue of Swami Vivekananda whose photographs are not allowed to be taken from inside the hall. Below the statue was mentioned the year of death of the Swamiji and the "probable" dates when Swamiji attained Samadhi on the rock. Here you can see both sunrise and sunset and it is one of the main tourist attractions here. Golden Hues of the Horizon are very impressive with a silhouette of the Rock Memorial.

Thiruvalluvar Statue

Thiruvalluvar Statue is dedicated to arguably the greatest Tamil poet, philosopher, and saint Thiruvalluvar. The rock supports a huge statue of the saint carved out of many rocks that were then joined together. It was inaugurated fairly recently. The view from this point is quite breathtaking! It is a very entertaining and enlightening piece of work and inspires one to lead a very principled and moral life. It is a must read for anyone who visits this place and it is advisable to spend at least half an hour specially dedicated for this exercise. Such is the beauty of Kanyakumari that a lot of people find themselves attracted to it. Mahatma Gandhi too could not resist its charm, and there is a place here dedicated to him called Gandhi Mandapam. This is the place, where one could witness the confluence of the three oceans.

On 18th, I decided to rest and finally on 19th at early morning we boarded the train, after 2 days on the wheel we back to the pavilion.

!!!No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. – Lin Yutang!!!