Kadampuzha

Kadampuzha
By
P.R.Ramachander
Kadampuzha (meaning Forest River) is a famous temple of the mother goddess. This
place is in the road between Shoranur and Calicut. The nearest railway station is
Kuttipuram. You can reach the temple from Guruvayur also.
The goddess in this temple is in the form of a huntress. She took this form when Shiva
took the form of a hunter to test the discipline of Arjuna, before giving him the
Pasupathasthra. At that time, one boar sent by Duryodhana was trying to kill Arjuna.
Both Arjuna as well as Lord Shiva in the form of hunter shot arrows at the boar. Both of
them claimed that the boar was killed by them. A fight ensued. Arjuna shot many arrows
at the lord. But all arrows turned in to flowers. Goddess and Lord later blessed Arjuna,
There is a belief that when Adhishankara was passing through this place he saw a very
bright light emanating from a hole. Understanding the presence of Goddess in this hole,
he consecrated the Goddess near by .
The Ashta Mangalya Prasna conducted at the temple indicates that this temple is 1900
years old . It seems when Adhi Shankara was passing through this way, he saw a fierce
light in this place. Through his divine intellect he could see that Goddess was here in a
very furious form. He decided to consecrate her there. He was helped in this job by a
Varrier family. Even today this Varrier family lives in near the temple and manages it.
Every Friday night, the idol of the Goddess is covered and completely hidden by
Thechi flowers (red small flowers which is liked by the Goddess) . This is called “Poo
moodal(covering with flowers),. The expense for this is normally given by the devotees.
It seems this has been booked up to the year 2020.
Another interesting prayer here is Muttu Neekal( Removing of road blocks). This is
done by the priest breaking a coconut telling our name and our problem. If it breaks
properly the devotee believes that his problem is solved. If not he breaks another
coconut. It is believed that the tender water of the coconut we break goes in to the hole ,
where Bhagawathy is there and being pleased she blesses for the removal of the obstacle.
Muttu Neekal is done for getting knowledge, children , getting freedom from disease ,
getting married, owning a trouble free vehicle and so on. This temple is open from 6 Am
to 12 Noon and in the evening between 5 PM to 6 PM. No body goes o the temple after 6
PM.
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