Chottanikkara Devi Temple

Chottanikkara Devi Temple

Chottanikkara Devi Temple south east of thrippoonithura 7 kilometers. chottanikkara is an important centre of hindu pilgrimage in Ernakulam district. it is a village 17 kilometers southeast of ernakulam town. the place is famous throughout India for its Bhagavathy temple which attracts multitude of worshippers from different parts of India. Navarathri is celebrated on a grand scale here and art performances are presented on all the nine days.

Special offerings are made here to eradicate evil spirits. Those who are suffering from mental disorder came in large numbers to the temple for worship and special offering. They are completely cured by the grace of the Godess of Chotanikkara. Devi is believed to have such a devine power. self born idol of devi is in Rudraksha Sila.

Besides devi the supreme power, other gods are also worshipped here. in the " Sanctum Sanctorum" of the temple, there are idols of Bramha, Vishnu, Maheswara, Subramanya, Ganapathy and Dharmasastha. The position and status of Dharmasastha here is entirely different from other places. Here he is considered not as " Brahmachari" but as " Grihasta " with two wives. Minor cases of mental disorder are disposed of here before the shrine of Dharmasastha. Temple opens at 4 am. Various offerings are made and will be closed at 12 am. Again temple is opened at 4pm for evening offerings. After initial pujas, there is Deeparadhana ( waving of lamps to the idol as a form of worship) it is a very unique offering here. After the night pujas the temple will be closed at 8 pm.

The annual festival of the temple is in the month of Kumbha ( February - March ). Annual festival is for nine days begining on Rohini asterisk and ending on Uthram Day. So many peculiarities are there in the temple rituals unlike in other temple, here there is "Arattu" ( holy dip of the deity ) on every day. In other temples " Arattu " is only on the last day. Makom day is considered to be extremely auspecious here and thousands and thousands of devotees came to worship with various kinds of offerings. Majority of them are women. Devi gave darsan to vilwamangalam Swamiyar on the Makom day.

Ever somany legends are there regarding the origin of the temple, the rituals and the godess. These legends reveal the miraculous power of Devi, and the ardent faith of devotees in Her. People from all walks of life offer worship here for purity of mind and fulfillment of desires. they are not disappointed.

It is believed that Devi Saraswathy of the famous temple of Mookambika is here in Chottanikkara temple in the morning. In mookambika temple opens for morning offerings only at 7.30 am. the reason is till then devi's presence will be at Chottanikkara. Here the morning pujas begin at 4 am. Devi is worshipped as Saraswathi in the morning, Bhadrakali at noon and Durga in the evening.

Chottanikara Bagavathi Temple

It is the most important Temple among the 393 shrines spread over 3 Districts of Kerala and coming under the administration of Cochin Devaswom Board.The Devine Mother known as Rajarajeswari (Adiparasakthi) is worshipped here in three forms Saraswathy in the morning, Lakshmi at noon and Durga in the evening. There is an Idol of Mahavishnu on the same pedestal and so the Deity is calledAmmenarayana, Devinarayana, Lakshminarayanaand Bhadrenarayana also. Apart from the main deity, the temple complex consists of Kizhukkavu Bhagavathy temple, temples for Sastha, Siva, Ganapathi, N agas and other Upa-Devas. Makom Thozhal (worship on the Makom day) is the most important festival of the temple which is celebrated in the month of Kumbham. (Feb I March) It is believed that Bhagavathy in her full attire gave darshan to Vilwamangalam Swamiyar on the Makom day and appears on the same day every year for giving darshan to the devotees in her special appearance.

www.chottanikkarabhagavathy.org Ph : 0484 2711032, 2712350

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