Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
offending local sensibilities. It pays to dress sensitively, especially if you're going into
Varkala town.
Sights
Janardhana Temple
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Varkala is a temple town and Janardhana Temple is the main event - its technicolour
Hindu spectacle sits hovering above Beach Rd. The temple is closed to non-Hindus, but
you may be invited into the temple grounds where there is a huge banyan tree and shrines
to Ayyappan, Hanuman and other Hindu deities.
HINDU TEMPLE
Sivagiri Mutt
( 2602807; www.sivagirimutt.org ) Sivagiri Mutt is the headquarters of the Shri Narayana
Dharma Sanghom Trust, the ashram devoted to Shri Narayana Guru (1855-1928), Ker-
ala's most prominent guru. This is a popular pilgrimage site and the resident swami is
happy to talk to visitors.
SACRED SITE
AYURVEDA
With its roots in Sanskrit, the word ayurveda is from ayu (life) and veda (knowledge); the knowledge or science
of life. Principles of ayurvedic medicine were first documented in the Vedas some 2000 years ago, but may have
been practised centuries earlier.
Ayurveda sees the world as having an intrinsic order and balance. It argues that we possess three doshas (hu-
mours): vata (wind or air); pitta (fire); and kapha (water/earth), known together as the tridoshas. Deficiency or
excess in any of them can result in disease: an excess of vata may result in dizziness and debility; an increase in
pitta may lead to fever, inflammation and infection. Kapha is essential for hydration.
Ayurvedic treatment aims to restore the balance, and hence good health, principally through two methods: pan-
chakarma (internal purification), and herbal massage. Panchakarma is used to treat serious ailments, and is an in-
tense detox regime, a combination of five types of different therapies to rid the body of built-up endotoxins.
These include: vaman - therapeutic vomiting; virechan - purgation; vasti - enemas; nasya - elimination of toxins
through the nose; and raktamoksha - detoxification of the blood. Before panchakarma begins, the body is first
prepared over several days with a special diet, oil massages ( snehana ) and herbal steam-baths ( swedana ). Al-
though it may sound pretty grim, panchakarma purification might only use a few of these treatments at a time,
with therapies like bloodletting and leeches only used in rare cases. Still, this is no spa holiday. The herbs used in
ayurveda grow in abundance in Kerala's humid climate - the monsoon is thought to be the best time of year for
treatment, when there is less dust in the air, the pores are open and the body is most receptive to treatment - and
every village has its own ayurvedic pharmacy.
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