Kalpathi (Kalpathy) Ratholsavam (Kalpathi Chariot Festival) is an annual

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

festival in the Kalpathy of

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

state,

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. The festival is at the Sri Visalakshi Sametha Sri Viswanatha Swamy temple where the deities are

Lord Siva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hind ...

(Lord Viswanatha) and his consort Visalakshi, another name for

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

. The annual ten-day chariot festival conducted here during the month of November is one of the most remarkable festivals of Kerala.

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

recitals and cultural programmes are held in the temple during the first four days of the festival. This is believed to be over 700 years old. On the last three days, thousands of devotees gather together to draw decorated temple chariots through the streets. The ancient temple nestles by the banks of the Kalpathy river which is also known as the ''Nila'' river. The temple dates back to 1425. The similarities to the famous

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

Kashi Vishwanath temple on the banks of the Ganges in North India gives this temple the moniker: ''kasiyil pakuthi kalpathy''—Kalpathy is half Kashi. Kalpathi (Kalpathy), as the village or ''agraharam'' in which the temple is situated is known, is an early

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

settlement.

How to get there

* Nearest bus stand:

Stadium Bus Stand 3 km * Nearest railway station: Palakkad Junction - 3 km * Nearest airport:

Coimbatore International Airport Coimbatore International Airport is the primary airport serving the industrial cities of Coimbatore and Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the neighbourhood of Peelamedu, about from the center of Coimbatore. It is the 18th-bus ...

- 70 km Kalpathy Viswanatha swamy temple is the oldest Siva temple in Malabar. It was built around 1425 AD.by Kombi Achan, the then Raja of Palakkad. Legend has it that a Brahmin widow named Lakshmiammal went to Banaras and brought Lingam and installed in the present site on the Southern bank of river Neela Bhagirathi. The location of the temple and steps leading to the river brings mind of a visitor the Banaras Temples on the bank of Ganges. Hence this temple is called "Kasiyil Pakuthi Kalpathy" (Half Banaras). Kalpathy Car Festival is based on vedic Tamil Brahmin culture. The main centre of the festival is Kalpathy Sree Viswanathaswamy temple. The three satellite temples in the village of new Kalpathy, old Kalpathy and Chathapuram also celebrate the festival this period. The festival is celebrated over a period of 10 days.

The Festival

The festival is conducted over a period of 10 days, usually 8 to 16 November. During this time, 6 chariots (rathas) from 4 temples of Kalpathy come together and circumvent streets of the villages in a grand procession. The 4+2 as follows: main chariot carrying Lord Shiva and additional 2 small chariots for his sons, Ganapathy and Murugan; chariots from the other 3 villages namely New Kalpathy with Lord Ganapathy, Old Kalpathy with Lord Krishna and Chathapuram with Lord Ganapathy. This is known as 'devarathasamgamam'. Thousands of devotees converge at Kalpathy and pull the chariot every year.

2005 Pictures

Kalpathy Car Festival.JPG P1000525.JPG, Car Festival 2005 Kalpathy festival people.jpg, Devotees Hindu Shrine deocarted during Kalpathy festival.jpg , Decorated Holy shrine Kalpathy festival.jpg

References

External links

{{Tourism in Kerala Hindu festivals in Kerala November observances Festivals in Palakkad district