Kadampuzha Devi Temple

Kadampuzha Devi Temple is a renowned temple and pilgrimage center in Malappuram District, Kerala. Mighty Goddess Durga is worshipped by number of devotees, in this temple. The Devi temple is administered by Malabar Devaswom Board, under the Government of Kerala. All the acts and works of the temple are supervised by the Variar family and non hereditary appointed trustees. Two rituals are mainly performed in Kadampuzha on daily basis, namely ‘Poomoodal’ and ‘Muttarukkal’.

Poomodal is the ritual of embellishing the idol with fresh Chetthy flowers, while the second ritual is about breaking coconuts into two equal parts before the goddess by the priest. It is believe that by performing the ritual of Muttarukkal, the Goddess removes all the hurdles from the life of her devotees. If the offered coconut is not broken into two equal halves, then other fresh coconuts are broken until one is not broken into considered manner - making sure the obstacle is gone away due to the kindness of Durga Devi.

History and Establishment
As per the popular legend associated with Goddess Durga of Kadampuzha Temple, once Arjuna, the Pandava Prince, was offering prayers to Lord Shiva in the forest, where the present temple is situated. He was praying wholeheartedly in order to attain Pasupathasthra (a holy arrow named ‘Pasupatham’) from the Lord. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy, who were roaming in the forest for hunting, were impressed to see Arjuna’s devotion.

Mukasura, a devil took the form of a wild boar and started thrashing the plants and shrubs around the Arjuna, while he was in deep meditation. Both Arjuna and Lord Shiva shot the wild boar and then argued over whose arrow killed the animal. Finally, they decided to fight against each other using bow and declared that the winner will get the honor of hunting the wild boar. Both indulged in a battle that grew violent, in which Arjuna was defeated. Downhearted by the defeat, Arjuna started praying. He started flowering a big stone, by assuming it the incarnation of Goddess Parasakthi. He was surprised to see the flowers were falling on the feet of Lord Shiva and Devi Parvathy. Both were very happy to see Arjuna’s dedication towards them and blessed him with the arrow.

Key Features
Every year, thousands of devotees come to Kadampuzha Temple to seek the blessings of Goddess Durga. The Muttarukkal ritual is performed only in the morning between 5 am and 7 am, while the Poomoodal ritual is done between 9 am and 11 am. After completing these two main rituals, the temple is closed. Thereafter, it is opened to the devotees at 6 pm and soon closes at 7 pm. Food offering or Annadaanam is done at the temple everyday. Entering into the temple makes the devotees forget all their worries and gives them the much-needed positive energy to live the life contently. Karthikai Day of the Vrishchikam Month is grandly celebrated here. Like any other temple in Kerala, Kadampuzha Devi Temple also has some special and influential days to visit. These include Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

How to Reach:
Kadampuzha Temple is easily reachable from Calicut Airport, which is the nearest. There are also nearby railway stations like Thirur and Kuttippuram. Both stations are 18 km away from the temple. Buses can also be good options to reach the temple. There are few buses that run direct to the temple. These buses can be taken from Guruvayur, Calicut, Manjeri, Palghat, and Nilambur. If one wishes to board bus from other places, then it is required to get down in Vettichira on NH 17, from where autorikshaws can be hired to reach the Kadampuzha Devi Temple, which is just 2 km away.