Paravur Puthingal devi temple

Puttingal Devi Temple, Paravur,Kollam,Kerala
By
Biju Gopinath, Paravur
Paravur puttingal Devi Temple is one of the oldest temples in Kollam district. People in
and out Kollam district come to this temple. ' Puttu' in Malayam means ant hill. A small
temple was constructed when the presence of Godess herself was experience on an ant
hill. Later on, the temple was reconstructed a couple of centuries back.
This is the picture of the temple which existed till 2006. This temple was reconstructed
on 2006 and now it looks one of the biggest temples in the state of Kerala. The
renovation work is still going on and on completion of it would make Puttingal temple
one of the biggest temple complexes in Kerala. The massive renovation project is carried
out by a set of people who have vast experience in handling similar huge projects. The
renovation work has already been strated with the 'thodupani' puja. The elaborate
estimate and plan of sreekovil (sanctum santorium), Upadevalayas, nalambalam,
kambapuras, kalithattu, dwajam(the flag post), kshetrakulam(temple pond),
gopurams(towers), koothambalam and chuttumathil (compound walls) are already done.
At the extreme end of the front compound, there is the prathishta of Lord shiva which
face with puttingal Devi. The entire project is estimated at Rs. 5 crore. But most people
respond very positively and the fund is getting without any delay. The structure of the
new sreekovil is as pictured below:
The full furniture frame work is on Teak and each part of the sreekovil looking fully
devotional.
Aval ( beaten rice) and malar ( the puffed rice) are the main offerings for the Puttungal
Goddess along with tender coconut and flowers. The annual temple festival which is also
the birth day of the Goddess is celebrated on the day of the Bharani in the Malayalam
month of Meenam (March-April). Aswathy vilakku, Kampadikali, Kathakali,
Marameduppu and other cultural events are associated with the festival. The festival lasts
for seven days each year. On each days, the temple and the surroundings crowd with lot
of pilgrims. There is a very big compound around the temple especially on the front
side. There is a It can include more than lakh of people without any problem. Malsara
Kambam (fire works) is one of the main items in connection with meenabharani
maholtsavam. It starts around 10' o clock in the last day till the next morning.. Kathakali
is also an inevitable item of the festival.
The festivals attract thousands of visitors and foreigners. After the festival the
temple close for seven days. In these days there wornt be any pooja or other things.
Thottam paattu is also a main offering of the puttingal temple. It begins on the 21st day
of Vrischikam ( November - December) and lasts till the principal festival of the
Goddess. Three persons tell the story of Devi in three parts on each day and two times in
a day first in the evening and later on after Deeparadhana. After the Thottam paattu
season also the temple close for seven days. The picture of thottam pattu is given below:
There are lot of temples in and around paravur. On the day of the festival of each temple,
the evening procession come to Puttingal temple before it ends. People believe that if we
pray Puttingal Devi deeply, their sufferings will be solved by the Amma. Lots of people
witness this.
GETTING THE TEMPLE:
By train : Paravur is the first main railway station from Kollam to Trivandrum. Get down
at Paravur Railway station and go the west side. It will take 15 mnts to walk and on auto
it is a minimum charge trip.
By bus: From Kollam in KSRTC Fast Passenger: get down at Chathannoor and catch
another bus from there. It takes15 minutes to reach Paravur Bus stand
From Trivandrum, by bus: get down at Paripally ( 1 hr from Trivandrum) and catch
Paravur Bus. It is around 10Kms from Paripally to Paravur bus stand.
From Paravur Busstand , it is only 10 minutes walking distance to the Temple.