Chottanikara is located about 17 KM away from Ernakulam Railway Station and around 7 KM away from Thiruppanithura railway station. This town is famous for its Goddess Rajarajeswari (Bhagavathi) Amman temple which is one of the most famous temples in Kerala State. Her Shakthi or Power draws thousands and thousands of her devotees daily from all over.
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| Chottanikkara Sri Rajareswari Amman |
The temple Legend history says That the area in which the temple is situated was once a dense forest that was believed to be infested by yakshas and rakshsas. A tribesman named Kannappan used to live in this forest. He was a devout worshipper of Kali, and would ritually sacrifice a cow to her every Friday ( the day of the Goddess). One day, he found a beautiful black calf near the forest. he kidnapped her and took her to his altar. Just before he sacrificed the calf, his daughter, Manimanga, stepped in and pleaded for him to stop. The man loved his daughter and thus let her keep the calf as a pet. Unfortunately, Manimanga died the next morning. However, when the tribes man looked for the calf, he found two divine stones in its place : one was Lakshmi and the other was Vishnu. After many years, the stones were forgotten. One day, a woodcutter came to the forest to cut some trees. Since his axe was blunt,he sharpened it on a nearby stone. Wonder of wonders, the stone started bleeding. After devaprasnam, it was concluded that the stones were divine. The idol at Keezhkavu didn't come until after the temple was built. One night, a Brahmin was walking along a moonlit trail. Suddenly, he saw a beautiful woman, standing all alone. He offered to escort her home, and she agreed. However, when the Brahmin went to the Goddess's priest, he was told that it was really a yakshi. thus, with the yakshi after him, the Brahmin ran to the temple. Just as he reached the sanctum, the yakshi transformed and rounded up on him. However, the goddess jumped out of the sanctum sanctorum as Kali and killed her. She then went to wash her self in the pond, where the Kali idol was found hundreds of years later by Vilvamangalam of Guruvayoor. Thus the two Amman deities were born and worshipped at the main temple and at the Keezhakkavu temples.
The temple architecture is followed by ancient Vishwakarma Sthapthis in line with the wooden sculpture done in Sabarimala temple. One can worship the Goddess Bhagavathi Amman in three different forms in a day viz. as Saraswathi Amman in the morning dressed in white, as Lakshmi Devi dressed in Crimson in the noon and as Durgai Amman dressed in blue in the evening. Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Ayyappa, Lord Ganesha and Lord zmuruga are also worshipped in this temple. The deity's Shakthi or Power is very well known here to cure her devotees from mental illness or to drive away the evil spirits. There is a specific pooja being performed daily at the Keezhkkavu temple which is located at the foothills of the main temple. Here, in this temple, the Bhagavathi Amman deity can be seen with a 'soola' (Trisul) in hand in the form of a rudra swarupa Kali. People suffering from mental illness worship this Bhagavathi Amman who not only cures their illness but also ward off all evil spirits. A special pooja 'kuruthi pooja' is performed in this temple daily for the well being of her devotees.
Another peculiarity of this temple is that the Goddess is not fixed to the ground but rests on a bed of sand. Nearby her, is the idol of Lord Vishnu. Hence the devotees always pray to her along with Lord Narayana (Lord Vishnu) viz. 'Amme Narayana', 'Devi Narayana', 'Lakshmi Narayana' and 'Badre Narayana'. Tuesday's and Fridays are important days in a week for Sree Bhagavathi Amman temples and one can see lot of worshipped in the temple. Also the nine days of Navrathri festivals are celebrated in a grand manner every year in Amman temples
An important ritual is being performed in this temple is 'Makam Thozhal'. In this ritual, the Goddess Bhagavathi Amman appears in her sacred full-fledged splendor and glory bedecked with her full gold ornaments, precious jewellery and innumerable garlands. Her devotees confidently believe that her darshan at this moment will result in the fulfillment of all their prayers and long desires and all their miseries will go away from that golden moment. It is believed that Bhagavathy Amman in her full attire gave darsan to Vilwamangalam Swamiyar on the Makam day and appears on the same day every year for giving darshan to the devotees in her special appearance. The Bhadrakaali at Kizhukkavu is believed to exorcise evil spirit from devotees
Click flwg link to listen the melodious devotional song on 'Amme Narayanan, Devi Narayana..."
Temple timings are - 04.00 a.m. To 12.30 p.m. And 4.00 p.m. To 8.45 p.m.
Contact details : Chottanikkara Devaswom, Chottanikara, Ernakulam Dist, Kerala PIN 682312
Phone: 0484-2711032, 2713300
URL: www.chottanikkarabhagavathy.org
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| வணக்கம் |
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