| Devi Temple, Kadampuzha | |
| — village — | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Kerala |
| District(s) | Malappuram |
| Nearest city | Kottakkal |
| Parliamentary constituency | Ponnani |
| Civic agency | Marakkara Panchayath |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
Devi Temple, Kadampuzha is a Hindu temple and pilgrimage centre in Malappuram District, Kerala, India. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu goddessDurga, a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess.
The Devi temple, owned by the Malabar Devaswom Board under the Government of Kerala, is administered through a trust consisting of the Variar family and non hereditary co-opted trustees.
The town of Kadampuzha was once in the hands of the "Thekkencheri" Nair family, but in the 1860s most of their land was lost. There is another temple, Madambiyar Kavu temple, situated a short distance away from the Devi temple, which was originally constructed and maintained by the Nair family. The idol of the Madambiyar temple is Lord Shiva in his "Kirata" incarnation.
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There are two main daily rituals at the temple. The Poomoodal (covering the deity under a heap of freshly picked flowers) is the highest puja done in the temple. The Muttarukkal, another offering, involves breaking coconuts before the deity by the pujari, correctly into two equal halves, and is used for warding away obstacles in the various facets of the life of the devotees. The word itself means 'keeping away obstacles'. If an offered coconut fails to be broken into two exact halves, then fresh coconuts are broken until one is broken 'correctly' - ensuring that the problem has been solved by the divine interference of the deity.
Karthikai day in the month Vrishchikam (November–December), is considered a special day and is celebrated in a grand manner at this temple.
The deity is considered more powerful on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Annadaanam or food offering is made daily at the temple.
A story regarding the Devi says that the Pandava Prince, Arjuna, fought with Lord Shiva during his Kirata incarnation (he was accompanied by Devi Parvathy during her Vanadurga incarnation).
A demon named Mukasura took the form of a wild boar and started destroying the trees and shrubs around Arjuna. Arjuna was in deep meditation at the time, in order to get the Pasupathasthra (a divine arrow named "Pasupatham") from Lord Paramasiva.
Both Arjuna and Shiva shot at the wild boar and both claimed that his arrow had killed the animal. They argued, and finally agreed to fight a battle with bow and arrow. The victor of the battle would also get the honour of being the killer of the wild boar. The ensuing battle was fierce and Arjuna was defeated. Despondent over the defeat, Arjuna placed a big stone in front of him and started praying to the mother of the universe Parasakthi while showering flowers over the stone. He was amazed to see that the flowers fell at the feet of the Kirata and Kirati. He realised that those people were actually Lord Paramasiva and Devi Parvathy. The Lord and Devi Parvathy were pleased with Arjuna and gifted him with the Pasupathastra arrow.
Another legend says that Adi Sankaracharya, during his travels, once happened to pass through Kadampuzha, which was then a grassland. At one place he could not pass further, as he seemed to strike an invisible wall. He understood it to be the meeting point of the Goddess Parasakthi in her Devi Parvathy incarnation and Lord Parameswara in his "Kirata" incarnation. Adi Sankaracharya prayed to the Devi and she appeared before him. After blessing him, the goddess disappeared into a small hole in the ground. He did the first poojas to the devi there on that day in Vrishchikam (November–December) and the sanctum of the temple is said to have been built around that hole. There is no idol in the temple.
Currently, the temple is under renovation/modification/beautification and hence the devotees are requested to make a note of the revised timings till the construction is completed.
a)The MUTTARUKKAL offering is being done only in the morning i.e. between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. No MUTTARUKKAL will be conducted in the evening. b)The POOMOODAL offering is being done between 9 & 11 a.m. after which the temple will be closed after morning pujas by 11 a.m. c)The temple will be opened for the evening darshan at 6 p.m. and will be closed at 7 p.m.
The Devotees are requested to contribute for the temple renovation fund as much as they can.