According to the Devanga Purana, Sage Devala,is the progenitor of the Devanga community. He emerged from the third eye of Lord Shiva to create clothing and to teach weaving to the world. When Devala returned after obtaining threads from Lord Vishnu's lotus navel, a group of five demons, Vajramushti, Dhoomravakra, Dhoomratchasa, Chithrasena and Panchasena, attacked him at midnight. In the dark, the power of the demons was overwhelming. Devala attempted to fight them off using Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra, but failed, and finally prayed for Shakti to protect him. Shakti appeared in light and glory, wearing a bright full crown, holding a trident and other weapons in her hand while mounted on a lion. She killed the demons; their blood was white, black, red, green, and yellow. Devala soaked his threads in the demon's colorful blood. Shakti was then given the name Chowdeshwari or Sowdeswari. Sowdeswari advised Devala to worship her during every new moon. Devala went to the southHimalayas and founded Sagara Kingdom with Amodh Nagar as its capital. He wove new clothes and gave them to all: the gods, demigods, immortals and humans. Devala gave clothes to cover Deva's body parts so his community is named as Devanga Community. He married Suryadev's Sister DevaDhutta so as surya is first kinsmen, Then Aadhi shesha's daughter ChandraReka so Devanga people are called as Sedar/Jendar and then he married Asura Vakrathantha's daughter AgniDhutta.People who follow Devala are known as Devanga or Devangar.
The ancient Devanga community who worshipped the goddess in Karnataka dispersed to other states, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. They brought the weaving industry to their new home towns and set up temples of Sri Ramalinga Sowdeswari Amman as their deity. The Kannada-speaking Devanga community in Tamil Nadu is also known as Devanga Chettiar. They reside in a number of locations in the Coimbatore, Theni, Dindigul, Salem, Erode, Madurai and Virudhunagar districts. Although their religious practices fall into the Saivism and Vaishnavism denominations of Hinduism. they generally worship Sri Ramalinga Sowdeswari Amman. There are 10,000 Vamsa/Vansh clans in the Devanga community.
Chowdeshwari vs Ramalinga Sowdeswari
Devanga people originally followed Shaktism and worshipped the goddess in the form of Chowdeshwari.King Devadas built a temple and invited Lord Shiva as Ramalingeshwara and Parvathi as Sowdeswari from Srisailam temple, after that they adopted some Hindu traditions, worshipping Chowdeshwari along with RamaBana and Lingam, as Sri Ramalinga Sowdeswari Amman. In general the Devanga people worship Sri Ramalinga Sowdeswari Amman as well as Chowdeshwari Devi, and several other names. while the Nepali Korakpur Devanga people worship her as Komalangi Devi.
Festivals
Devanga new year: Those who follow the calendar of moon's rotation celebrate their new year on the day of Ugadi. If they follow the sun's rotation calendar, they celebrate their new year on the day of Chaithra 1. Most communities celebrate Ugadi as their new year.
Chaitra Suddha Panchami: This is the birthday celebration of Sage Devala. It is celebrated on the fifth Thithi day after Ugadi.
Ashadha Amavasya: This is the birthday celebration of the Goddess, commemorating Sowdeswari's rescue of Sage Devala and her conquest over the demons. It is celebrated on Amavasya of Ashadha month. The Devanga people also celebrate every Amavasya as their holy day, stopping weaving and offering prayers to Chowdeshwari.
Yearly Festival : The yearly festival of Sowdeswari Amman Temple usually falls during the season of Navratri but varies depending on the tradition of the area. It includes Alagu Sevai, Shakti Chamunda Jyothi pooja, Manja Neer Meravana, and Amman Beethi Ulaa. It is also known as Aikilu Habba.
Sankranti: Most Devanga people celebrate the Sankranti festival. In Tamil Nadu, they celebrate Pongal instead of Sankranthi.
Janmastami: The Devanga people celebrate the Krishna Ashtami festival.
Ramnavami: As the Devanga pray to Lord Shiva in the form of Ramalingeshwar, they also celebrate Ramnavami.
The Devanga community flag is yellow, with the figures of Nandhi, Surya and Chandra depicted in green.
Pooja rituals in Sowdeswari Temple
The pooja rituals for Sri Ramalinga Sowdeswari Amman are a mixture of the culture of North and South India. The celebrants build a small cart-like building using jaggery, roof it with sugarcane and use Betel leaf for decoration. A special turmeric called pandaram is offered as Prasāda for the deities. The Devanga people perform all their rituals by themselves.
Alagu seva
This ritual derives from the story that King Devadas, the seventh incarnation of Devala, built a beautiful temple for Sowdeshwari. He invited Lord Shiva and Parvathi from Srisailam to the temple but on the way Parvathi disappeared in the water as Devadas broke his promise. Devadas and his soldiers then wounded themselves with swords and suddenly the goddess appeared and joined them. The alagu seva ritual commemorates this event and invokes Sowdeswari Amman. It is performed only by the Devanga people. The holy turmeric mixture, pandaram, is applied to the wounds to protect them from infection. The celebrants, called veerakumars, strike their bare chests with holy swords in a ritual dance. The ritual is also called alagu seva or katthi haakkadhu.
Jagajathara Dhoddabba
Jagajathara Dhoddabba is a five-day festival celebrated for Sri Ramalinga Sowdeswari Amman. Sakthi: It is dedicated to the goddess Sakthi – "Irumaneru" clan goddess will be revered for Sakthi function. Chamundi: It is dedicated to the goddess Chamundeswari – "Yendhelaaru" clan goddess will be revered for Chamundi fucntion. Jyothi: It is dedicated to goddess Jyothi Light – "Ladhiyagaaru" clan goddess will be revered for Maha Jyothi. Gundam: The fourth day of the festival dedicated to the goddess Gundam – "Kappelaaaru" clan goddess will be revered for Gundam. The famous chant slogan "Shakthi Chamundi Jyothi amma Baa maa" is used while invoking the goddesses.
The Sambusailam monastery at Jalakandapuram, Tamil Nadu is led by Devangakula Guru Abbot Chandramouleswara Swamiji.
Temples
The main temple to the goddess Sri Ramalinga Sowdeswari Amman is located in Hampi, Karnataka. It is known as Thai Sthalam. The temple located in Dharapuram is also known as Thai Sthalam. There are many Sri Ramalinga Sowdeswari Amman temples in Tamil Nadu. In other states, the goddess is known as Sri Banashankari, Sri Chowdeswari, Sowdamman, or Soodambigai.
