Kerala's Chottanikkara Temple!

Kerala's Chottanikkara Temple!

once upon a time, there was a devotee of Goddess Kali in Kerala. His name was Kannappan. He lived near a forest with his family and used the wood for his survival. While living this way, this simple man offered a cow to the Goddess every Friday. On one particular day he spotted a black calf in the forest and decided to offer it to Mother Kali. Just when he was about to behead the little calf, his daughter Manimanga came to him and pleaded that the calf should be allowed to live. Unable to break his daughter’s heart Kannappan agrees to allow his daughter to keep it as her pet. Little did he know, that fate had some other plans for little Manimanga. According to her fate the little girl is put to death next morning. Kannappa discovers his dead daughter and also find two stones in the calf’s place.

As time passed people forgot about the the two stones. Few years later a wood cutter came to the same forest. To sharpen his axe he used these two stones and found that they were bleeding. Everyone realized that these stones are of divine origin. This is the place where Chottanikkara Temple stands today. It is a temple dedicated to Bhagwati [another name of goddess Kali] and Lord Shiva. In terms of architecture, it is the best example of Vishwakarma Sthapatis [wooden sculpture]. In the Chottanikkara temple, the Goddess is worshiped in three forms - as Saraswati in the morning, draped in white; as Lakshmi at noon, draped in crimson; and as Durga in the evening, decked in blue. It is a belief among the people of Kerala, that people with any mental illness are cured when they come to see the merciful goddess. A special puja called the Guruthi Puja is unique to the Chottanikkara temple. Earlier it used to performed only on Fridays, but now this pooja is performed every day. 'Chottanikara Makam thozhal' is the main festival of this temple. You must visit this temple to seek the blessings of the Goddess in all her forms.

- Kruti Beesam