Kodikkunnu Bhagavathy Temple
Encyclopedia
The Kodikkunnu Bhagavathy Temple or Kodikkunnu Ambalam is a famous Hindu
temple
dedicated to Goddess Durga
located in the village of Pallippuram, near Pattambi
, in Palakkad
district of Kerala
, India
. The goddess is commonly referred to as the Bhagavathy or Kodikkunnathamma.
The word “kunnu” means hill in Malayalam language. Literally, Kodikkunnu Temple would thus mean the temple situated on top of the hill called “Kodi”. Kodikkunnu is near to Pallippuram railway station and can be accessed from Valanchery, Pattambi and Thrithala, by road.
The main deity is Amma means Mother and there is Siva
also with almost same importance. To the left of Bhagavathy is the idol of Ganapathi. People come from distant places to worship the goddess.
The temple has nada (holy entrance) from 3 directions, viz., north, east and west. The door towards the south is permanently closed. Vehicles cannot reach the immediate temple premises as there is no road reaching the temple. From all three directions there are granite stone-paved steps to reach the temple.
for the last three days.
There is a grandmother too, the mother of Kodikkunnu Goddess. She is the chief deity of Muthassiar Kavu (literally, grandmother's temple) near Pattambi
. According to one legend the Grandmother Goddess and her three beautiful daughters (including Kodikkunnathamma) were strolling along the river bed on a summer night. They saw a dance festival by the Harijans (low-caste Hindu
s) and the youngest daughter was so carried away by it, that she refused to go along when it was time to leave. The mother ordered her to be with the Harijans and perform as their guardian deity. This is the popular belief on the origin of Kanakkar Kavu (Kanakkar is a sect of Harijans).
On another occasion the two sisters quarreled after witnessing the ritual of an animal sacrifice. As the younger one was so much engrossed in the gory scene, the elder one parted company and settled down in Kodikkunnu. The younger sister shifted to Kodungallur
where blood sacrifices were a common ritual until the recent past. And the two elder sisters are still angry with their youngest sister that they have closed their temple doors that face towards Kodungallur. So in Kanakkarkavu and Kodikkunnu Temple there is no "thekke nada" (entrance from south).
and "pooram" festivals are normally conducted in Durga temples only. But this [Pooram] is conducted there on behalf of Kodikkunnathamma. The area comes under Pallippuram is divided in to smaller administrative geographical units called “desam”. From every desam people will send different type of dancers called "Pootan" and "Thara" for performance at the temple during the festival.
The main attractions during the pooram is Chenda
melam, Thayambaka
and Panchvadyam. From every desam people will bring “Kaala”(decorated artificial bullock pairs). At the end of the day there will be “Vedikkettu”(fireworks) which is a very enchanting sight to see.
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
dedicated to Goddess Durga
Durga
For the 1985 Hindi Film of Rajesh Khanna see DurgaaIn Hinduism, Durga ; ; meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; , durga) or Maa Durga "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion...
located in the village of Pallippuram, near Pattambi
Pattambi
Pattambi is one of the major town in the Palakkad district of the state of Kerala, South India. The place got its name from Batta Nambi. Once under Nedunganad Samanthas of Chera Kings. Later on Zamoothiri Raja annexed this place to his country and kept under the control of Eralpad Raja, the second...
, in Palakkad
Palakkad
Palakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
district 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....
, 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...
. The goddess is commonly referred to as the Bhagavathy or Kodikkunnathamma.
The word “kunnu” means hill in Malayalam language. Literally, Kodikkunnu Temple would thus mean the temple situated on top of the hill called “Kodi”. Kodikkunnu is near to Pallippuram railway station and can be accessed from Valanchery, Pattambi and Thrithala, by road.
The main deity is Amma means Mother and there is Siva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
also with almost same importance. To the left of Bhagavathy is the idol of Ganapathi. People come from distant places to worship the goddess.
The temple has nada (holy entrance) from 3 directions, viz., north, east and west. The door towards the south is permanently closed. Vehicles cannot reach the immediate temple premises as there is no road reaching the temple. From all three directions there are granite stone-paved steps to reach the temple.
Mythology
All believed in a legend that at some time in the past there was a poor widow and three children living in a house, across the river. She used to tend cows and every morning she would take the milk to the temple, which she exchanged for cooked rice for the day. Once the river was full and the boatman did not dare to make it across. The widow returned and told the children that there would not be any rice till the risen river-waters subsided. She gave boiled milk to the children and put them to bed. At midnight someone knocked on the front door and she found an old woman on the door step all covered up and drenched. The nocturnal visitor placed a brass vessel full of rice in front of the widow and commanded: "Wake the children up and feed them!" And the figure vanished. After the floods receded, the widow went to the temple with the usual supply of milk. When she discussed the incident with the priest, he was astonished. The priest found that the vessel the widow had left in the temple in which she used to collect the rice had been missing from the sanctum sanctorumSanctum sanctorum
The Latin phrase sanctum sanctorum is a Latin translation of the biblical term: "Holy of Holies" which generally refers in Latin texts to the Holiest place of the Tabernacle of Ancient Israel and later the Temples in Jerusalem, but also has some derivative use in application to imitations of the...
for the last three days.
There is a grandmother too, the mother of Kodikkunnu Goddess. She is the chief deity of Muthassiar Kavu (literally, grandmother's temple) near Pattambi
Pattambi
Pattambi is one of the major town in the Palakkad district of the state of Kerala, South India. The place got its name from Batta Nambi. Once under Nedunganad Samanthas of Chera Kings. Later on Zamoothiri Raja annexed this place to his country and kept under the control of Eralpad Raja, the second...
. According to one legend the Grandmother Goddess and her three beautiful daughters (including Kodikkunnathamma) were strolling along the river bed on a summer night. They saw a dance festival by the Harijans (low-caste Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s) and the youngest daughter was so carried away by it, that she refused to go along when it was time to leave. The mother ordered her to be with the Harijans and perform as their guardian deity. This is the popular belief on the origin of Kanakkar Kavu (Kanakkar is a sect of Harijans).
On another occasion the two sisters quarreled after witnessing the ritual of an animal sacrifice. As the younger one was so much engrossed in the gory scene, the elder one parted company and settled down in Kodikkunnu. The younger sister shifted to Kodungallur
Kodungallur
Kodungallur is a municipality in Thrissur District, in the state of Kerala, India on the Malabar Coast. Kodungallur is located about 29 km northwest of Kochi city and 38 km Southwest of Thrissur, on National Highway 17 . Muziris the ancient seaport at the mouth of the Periyar River was...
where blood sacrifices were a common ritual until the recent past. And the two elder sisters are still angry with their youngest sister that they have closed their temple doors that face towards Kodungallur. So in Kanakkarkavu and Kodikkunnu Temple there is no "thekke nada" (entrance from south).
Chirankara Pooram
.Chirankara pooram (temple festival) is the main festival of Kodikkunnu Bhagavathy Temple. This festival is conducted at Chirankara Mahavishnu temple which is known as the “Keezhekkavu” of Kodikkunnathamma. Chirankara temple is dedicated to VishnuVishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
and "pooram" festivals are normally conducted in Durga temples only. But this [Pooram] is conducted there on behalf of Kodikkunnathamma. The area comes under Pallippuram is divided in to smaller administrative geographical units called “desam”. From every desam people will send different type of dancers called "Pootan" and "Thara" for performance at the temple during the festival.
The main attractions during the pooram is Chenda
Chenda
The Chenda is a cylindrical percussion instrument used widely in the state of Kerala, and Tulu Nadu of Karnataka State in India. In Tulu Nadu it is known as Chande....
melam, Thayambaka
Thayambaka
Thayambaka or tayambaka is a type of solo chenda performance that developed in the south Indian state of Kerala, in which the main player at the centre improvises rhythmically on the beats of half-a-dozen or a few more chenda and ilathalam players around.A thayambaka performance on the chenda has...
and Panchvadyam. From every desam people will bring “Kaala”(decorated artificial bullock pairs). At the end of the day there will be “Vedikkettu”(fireworks) which is a very enchanting sight to see.