The Chottanikkara (correction of ''Jyotiannakkara'') Devi Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu mother goddess Bhagavati

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

. She is believed to be residing in Chottanikkara ( Mahalakshmi) along with her Husband Maha Vishnu. The main deity is also considered as Lakshmi Narayana according to the temple legend. The temple is Classified one among the 108 Abhimana Kshethram of Vaishnavate tradition. The

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

is located at Chottanikkara, a southern suburb of the city of

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

in Ernakulam district, in the state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and is one of the most popular temples in the state. The temple is known for conducting exorcisms.

Legend

The area in which the temple is situated was once a dense jungle. A tribesman named Kannappan used to live in this forest. He was a devout worshipper of the goddess

Mahakali Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. She is also known as the supreme being in various tantras and Puranas. Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal po ...

, and would ritually sacrifice a buffalo to her every Friday (the day of the Goddess). One day, he found a calf near the forest. He kidnapped the calf and took her to his stone altar. Just before he is about to sacrifice the calf, his daughter Pavizham stepped in and pleaded to him to stop the sacrifice. The man loved his daughter and thus let her keep the calf as a pet. Unfortunately, Pavizham died some days later, possibly due to a snake bite. Kannappan broke into tears and decided to cremate her body. To his surprise, his daughter's corpse disappeared. A nearby priest told him the reason for such an occurrence; Kannappan used to forcibly take young calves from their mothers and sacrificed them. As punishment, he met the same fate when his daughter died. When the tribesman looked for the calf, he found the sacrifice alter shining in its place. The priest explained that the calf represented the divine couple,

Lord Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation (sattva). Vish ...

and

. He asked Kannapan to pray before the alter everyday to undo his sins.

About the deity and the temple

Sree Mahamaya Bhagavati is one of the most popular deities in Kerala and the supreme mother goddess in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. Chottanikkara Devi (Melekavu Bhagavathi) is worshipped at the temple, in three different forms: as Mahasaraswati in the morning, draped in white; Mahalakshmi in noon, draped in crimson; and as

in the evening, decked in blue. Devotees chant "Amme Narayana, Devi Narayana, Lakshmi Narayana, Bhadre Narayana" in this temple. Goddess 'Keezhkkaavu bhagavathi' is believed to be Bhadrakali, in her fierce form or Ugra form. The deity of Devi is believed to be a swayambu deity which means it's self- manifested and not sculpted. Hence the Devi's vigraham in this temple appears to be in 'rock' form which resembles a texture like

rudraksha A ''rudraksha'' (IAST: ') refers to the dried Pyrena, stones or seeds of the genus ''Elaeocarpus'' specifically, ''Elaeocarpus ganitrus''. These stones serve as prayer beads for Hinduism, Hindus (especially Shaivism, Shaivas) and Buddhism, Bu ...

and now it's covered by a Bronze plate, which is sculpted with Devi's Roopam. There's another small black-coloured stone deity (shaligrama) found beside the Devi's vigraham which is believed to be a manifestation of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

. Hence the presiding deity of the Rudraksha rock is believed to be

Goddess Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

. In terms of temple architecture, the Chottanikkara temple stands out to be an ultimate testimonial to the ancient (wooden sculpture) along with Sabarimala temple.

The Legend of Keezhkavu shrine

The idol of Keezhkavil devi didn't come until after the shrine was built . Here is a legend that believed to be happened merely 3 or 4 centuries before. One night, a man named Gupthan Namboodiri was heading to Thirupunithura.Also he planned to meet his guru Kosapilli namboothiri, on his way, who was a teacher and the one who also practice wizardry. The time he traveled was night. On his way, Yakshi (a malicious spirit), took the form of a pretty maiden and enticed Gupthan. Since he was carrying a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

copy of Devi Mahatmyam, she was not able to do him any harm. However, Gupthan was attracted to her. Later when he reached Kosapilli Namboodiri's house, Gupthan narrated the incident to his guru and the guru deduced that the lady was a Yakshi. He then gave Gupthan Namboodiri an enchanted towel and rice to carry along on his return journey to protect himself from the Yakshi. When Gupthan saw the Yakshi following him he ran towards the Chottanikkara temple, on the way he threw the rice and swirled the towel at the Yakshi which slowed her and on reaching, jumped into the compound of the temple sanctum. The Yakshi who was pursuing him however , managed to catch his feet. When Gupthan cried out for help the mother Goddess Bhagavathy, she came out as Maha Kali and beheaded the Yakshi with her pallivaalu(divine Sword) and threw the yakshi's head into the temple tree base and then wash of the blood in the temple pond. That pond is known today as Yakshikulam or Rakthakulam, where the Kali idol was found merely a hundred years later by Vilwamangalam of Guruvayoor. And today, it is believed that the ones who are in trouble because of evil spirits and black magic, can visit and pray at Keezhkavu shrine which might help them to recover.

Film Adaptation

* Chottanikkara Amma * Amme Narayana * Amme Bhagavathi
-
-

References

External links