Kodangallur Bhagavati Temple, Kerala

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In Kerala, the mother Goddess is generally referred to as Bhagavati. The Bhagavati temple at Kodungallur is actually a temple dedicated to Kali or Kannagi. Kannagi is the heroine of the Tamil epic Silappathikaram. The Chera king Senguttuvan built a temple for Kannagi in Kodangallur. This is perhaps the only temple for her. As Kannagi is believed to be a manifestation of Kali or Durga, this temple can also be considered the temple of Kali.


As per the belief, the temple was originally a Shiva temple, and after Bhagavati's image was installed, it became a Bhagavati temple. The image of Bhagavati, which is around six feet high, is believed to have been carved out of a jack fruit tree. Bharani festival is grandly celebrated in this temple.


Kodungallur Bhagavati temple also has a shrine for Lord Shiva. He is called Sundareshwarar (similar to the deity of Madurai, the city where Kannagi's husband was killed). On the backside of the sanctum, the image of Meenakshi is found in the niche. 



Happy travelling.


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Comments

  1. P.N. SubramanianThursday, September 22, 2011

    Very good info. Incidentally there is a separate shrine for Kannagi outside (within the temple precincts)

    ReplyDelete

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