Prathishta / Presiding Deity : Parvathi
Upadevatha / Sub Deities : xx
District: Trivandrum
Thaluk: Trivandrum
Panchayath: xx
Thanthri: Thekkedathu Kuzhikkattillam
Trustee: Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Trust
Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, one of the ancient temples of south India, is dedicated
to the Goddess Bhagavathi, one of the forms of Parvati. It is situated on the banks
of the Killi river, in Thiruvananthapuram. The temple is beautified with carvings
of the various manifestations of the goddess, as Mahishasuramardini, Goddess Kali,
Rajarajeswari, Sree Parvati with Lord Paramashiva and various others. Legend is
that Devi Bhagavathi gave darshan to a devotee, the head of the Mulluveettil family,
as a 12-year-old girl near the Killi river. In a dream she demanded him to establish
an abode for her in the nearby sacred ground of shrubs and herbs (kavu), at a consecrated
spot marked by three lines. The devotee later built a temple at this sacred spot.
According to mythology, Attukal Bhagavathy is supposed to be the divinised form
of Kannaki, an incarnation of Parvati and the famous heroine of Shilappadikaram.
The story goes that after the destruction of the ancient city of Madurai, Kannaki
left the city and reached Kerala via Kanyakumari and on the way to Kodungallur sojourned
at Attukal.
The Attukal Bhagavathy Temple festival falls in February / March and lasts for ten
days. This is an occasion when the entire city becomes focused on the temple. The
streets are made colourful on the festival days with colorful processions. Offerings
called 'Vilakku kettu,' huge structures made of pith, decorated with shining paper
and garlands, and usually with the image of the goddess, are carried to the temple
in a procession. Some of these look like miniature temples. Tender coconut frond
and plantain leaf-stalks are also used in making these.
The temple is governed by a registered body, Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Trust. The
Trust undertakes and monitors the work related to the renovation of the temple,
improvement of the roads leading to the temple, expansion of areas for Ponkala,
and provision of facilities for the devotees to worship in the temple
Pongala in the day of Pooram in Kumbham. Also celebrated Thalapoli and Kuthiyottam.
This temple is also known as Sabarimala for the ladies.
Ponkala, an exclusive festival for women, is on the ninth day of the festival. On
the day of Ponkala, lakhs of women devotees assemble from different parts of Kerala
as well as other states and prepare ponkala, a sweet offering of rice, jaggery and
coconut, in earthen pots. After Ponkala, the chief priest of the temple goes around
and blesses the devotees by sprinkling holy water and flower petals on them. On
the concluding day of the festival, the goddess is taken out in a procession to
the Sastha or Ayyappa temple at suburban Manacaud, a few km away. Caparisoned elephants,
young girls with Thalappoli, young boys undertaking Kuthiyottam, and Nadaswaram
parties form an important part of this procession. On the way, people receive the
goddess in front of their houses with Nirapara and Nilavilakku, a Kerala custom
in which the traditional measuring container called 'Para' is decorated and filled
with paddy as offering to the goddess.
Other festivals and observances of the temple are Vinayaka Chaturthi, Dussehra,
Shivaratri, and Karthika Deepa
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P.B.No. 5805.
Manacaud P.O.,
Thiruvananthapuram - 695 009
Kerala
91-471- 2463130/2456456
Temple is 2 km South East of Trivandrum East Fort, near Killiyaar. Trivandrum International
Airport, Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station, Thiruvananthapuram Central
Bus Station are the nearest access points.
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