Sri Kadampuzha Temple

Kadampuzha Temple in Kerala

Sri Parvathy Temple, popularly known as Kadampuzha Bhagavathy temple, is located at a small town Kadampuzha in Thirur Taluk of Malappuram District in Kerala.

The presiding deity here is Sree Parvathy Devi in the form of Kirathi (hunter). The specialty of this temple is there is no deity in the sree kovil but a small area is kept protected. There is a Thidambu, made up of Pancha loha, and Bhagavathy is Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga, and Bhadrakali- all in one form as a Kirati.

Legends

It is believed that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy were wandering in the forest disguised as hunters. Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers of epic Mahabharatha, was sitting and praying to Lord Shiva in the same forest, for the sake of a boon to kill Mookasura. Though Shiva was pleased with his devotion, he decided to test him before granting the boon. Arjun sent arrows to kill demon Mookasura, and Lord Shiva in hunter's form, also sent arrows, and finally Mookasura was killed, but they fought each other claiming the responsibility. During the fierce fight between hunter and Arjuna, the hunter (Kirata) gets wounded. This makes the Kirata woman angry and curses Arjuna that - let the arrows from Arjuna be shower of flowers.

Arjun soon realizes that he was fighting with Lord Shiva who had taken the form of hunter, and prostrating before Him, he begged the Lord to forgive him for unknowingly fighting with him. Lord Shiva was pleased with Arjun and he was granted the boon of Pasupatastra.

Later, Sri Sankaracharya saw a jyothi there while passing through the forest, and with his divine power, he realized that it was Goddess Durga and built a temple there for her in the forest.

Since Arjuna's arrows were turned to flowers by Parvathi, the main pooja of Kadampuzha temple became Poomoodal. It is done twice a week. Tuesdays and Fridays. This offering (Poomoodal) is already booked for another 25 years. Also, irrespective of the seasons, the Temple has never faced scarcity of the Thechi Flowers used for this.

The other main offerings are Muttarukkal with breaking coconuts there, which is believed to help you get through your problems, such as dehamuttu, udyogamuttu, vivamuttu, vidhya muttu etc. The other offerings are Pushpanjali, Thrikala puja, choroonu, ganapathy homam, niramala, thulabaram etc.

Kadampuzha Bhagavathy is believed to possesses immense curative and rewarding powers. Hence, people come from all parts of the country to have a darshan of Bhagawathi and get their dream fulfilled.

Festivals

The major festival at Kadampuzha Temple is Karthika, which is celebrated on Karthika star day of Malayalam month Vrichikam (November-December). During this day there is Annadhanam to over 10000 devotees.

Timing:

6 am to 6 p.m, with a break in the afternoon which depends upon the puja.

Accommodation at reasonable rates can be had at the Temple guest House. Hotels are also there close to the temple.

Reaching there

By Air - Calicut is the nearest Airport.

By Train - The nearest railway stations are Thirur and Kuttippuram. Both these stations are about 18 kms away from the temple.

By Bus - There are direct buses to the temple from Guruvayur, Calicut, Manjeri, Palghat, Nilambur and Calicut. If you come by other buses you can get down in Vettichira on NH 17, and from there only 2 kms to the temple. Autorikshaws are available from Vettichira. They charge Rs.30/-.

Those who want to go from Guruvayur directly can take a taxi (costing Rs.1200/-)and leave by 5 am. so that they can reach Kadampuzha by 6.15 a.m. and get their puja done without a problem. Buses are also available.

From Trichur railway station, just walk up to the KSRTC bus stand, or to the junction and from there, you can get buses to Calicut and get down in Vettichira. (about 1 1/2 hours in the early morning). 

Contact address:
Executive Officer
Kadampuzha Bhagavathy Devaswam
Kadampuzha P.O
Malappuram Dist. PIN 676 553
Kerala (Phone - 0494-2615790)

P.S: During my recent visit (Sept 2014), I came to know that the timings are from 5.30-11.30 a.m and again 3.00-6.00 pm. Muttarukkal vazhipadu is done on all days n ow. 

Return from Kadampuzha Temple to South Indian Temples

For accommodation, booking can be done in the following hotels -

Reviews of Hotels in Malappuram