Description
The temple, as the name suggests, is fully dedicated to the Goddess Devi in various forms. Located in the Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu, crossing Chennai, the temple is a great deed of attraction for the devotees who come to view the incarnation of the Goddess in powerful forms.The Trivandrum Attukal Bhagavathy Temple,is a well renowned temple among Hindus, which is situated in the southern state of Kerala. It is situated in a place called Attukal in Thiruvananthapuram.In Alapuzha district of kerala, a beautiful temple of Godeees Durga is situated in the name of Chakkulathu Kavu .The Ayyavadi Mahapratiyankara Devi Temple is situated in Ayyavadi, the village found in close proximity to Kumbakonam, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Devi Temple is a holy enshrine situated in the state of Tamil Nadu. A must visit place with family and friends, the temple stands out as a unique enshrine of the glorious past.Mettupalayam Vanabhadra Kaliamman Devi Temple
History
The exact location for the temple is described to be in the Siruvachur which is 5 kilometers away from the Perambalur district. This place is actually supposed to be the one that belonged to the Kannagi that is the idol of Silapatikaram as per the Tamil epics.Mythology says that Attukal Bhagvathy is the divine form of Kannaki, the heroine of Chilapathikaram, a Tamil work by the poet Elenkovadikal. Kannaki was married to Kovalan, who was a merchant's son. Kovalan spent all his money on a dancer and forgot Kannaki. Shumbha and Nishuma were two demoniac characters used to live in ancient period. They started doing penance for achieving super human power from Lord Brahma. Legend has it that the 5 Pandava brothers came here and placed their firearms beneath a tree. After which, they prayed to Sri Maha Prathyangira Devi and roamed the jungles. Since this is the place where the Panadava brothers held communion, this place became well known as Aivar Padi, and it was, after some years, named as Ayyavadi.Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Devi Temple encapsulates a beautiful historical background. Long back in time Sri Sankaracharya had the habit of performing Srichakra Puja in the pious state of Kerala. This was usually done with a bunch of disciples on a regular basis.The exact date of construction of this temple is unknown. However, historians believe that this way built long back in time. Once, Goddess Shakti was undertaking a deep penance in the forest of Vena.
Importance/Significance
The prime and the foremost deity of the Siruvachur Madhurai Kaliamman Devi Temple is the Mathura Kaliammani in the significant form that is the Goddess Devi. The devotees will be given access to the temple only twice in a week – generally, Monday & Friday. The Trivandrum Attukal Bhagavathy Temple is one of the South Indian temples, built in ancient India. Women are the major devotees of this temple and it is known among them as Sabarimala. The Mother Goddess here is worshipped as the creator of the universe and all the living forces on earth. She is both the preserver and the destroyer. It is believed that Vishnumaya incarnated as Bhagvathy to destroy evil and restore goodness in the world during Kaliyuga.Almost 3000 years back , A Hunter with his family was walking through the jungle. Suddenly, he saw a snake was advancing on him, In self defence, he attacked snake with his axe but snake survived the attack . Mandaikadu Bhagavathy Devi Temple is believed to be a very significant temple. The Goddess is deemed all powerful and devotees have a lot of faith in her blessings. Mettupalayam Vanabhadra Kaliamman Devi Temple holds high religious importance, Maa Kali is considered to be all powerful and people pray to her for removing all the evils from one's life.
Facts/Mythology
There is temple ritual of making “Therali Nyvedyam” (a special sweet with mixture of rice and jaggery covered with plantain leaves). Damodaram Nambudiri is a chief priest of the temple.People of the village believe that the Goddess grants all the wishes of the devotees and frees them from all the problems that they're facing in their day to day lives. Priests of the temple perform different rites on the day of the new moon (Amavasya) following which, they offer tons of red chillies to the deity. Devotees pray to the Goddess.A unique fact about this temple is that the idol of Vanabhadra Kaliamman Devi is Swayambhu or self-manifested form and hence is considered to be very sacred.
Festivals/Events/Gatherings
A Car festival is one of the unique festivals of the temple, will be held every year in the month of May. In this festival, the goddess Mathura Kaliamman will be consorted in procession from the shrine to car where a lot of traditional formalities and rituals usually will be done. The most important festival celebrated here is the Attukal Pongala, which witnesses grand celebrations and a massive crowd. Millions of women come here during the month of Kumbham and prepare the Pongala which is rice cooked with ghee and jaggery in small pots in honor of the goddess.Chakkulathukavu Temple is known for their festivities all around the year. People from all over kerala visit the temple to take part in the festivities. Major amongst them is, Pongal, it is celebrated during the month of 'Vrischikam' .One of the famous festivals which are celebrated in this temple is the Pookundam fire pits which are held in the month of July. This is a grand festival which attracts thousands of people. The puja begins from the first Tuesday.