Thursday, November 24, 2011

Pishari Kavu of Kollam in Malabar

Pishari Kavu of Kollam near Koyilandy in Malabar

By
P.R.Ramachander

Pisharikkavu is a temple near Koilandy .
In Pisharikkavu   temple  the sword called Nandakam is worshipped here as the Goddess.  There is an interesting story behind it.
It seems a group of Nair diamond merchants  belonging to ettu veetil family who were  from Kollam of Southern Kerala were great devotees of the Goddess Bhadrakali (porkali)   When they meditated on the Goddess   it seems the Goddess  gave them her sword called Nandakam and asked them to worship the sword instead of her.
   Since they were opposed to the very powerful king Marthanda Verma, they were forced to run away from their native place. They migrated to the northern part of Kerala and settled down near Koilandy. They decided to call the place of their new settlement as “Kollam” in memory of their native place. They also built a temple for the sword Nandakam and called it Pisharikkavu. The local population used to call them as Vyapari Nayars and this later changed over time in to “Ravari Nayars”. Apart from the devi temple , the temple also houses a siva temple.

    Valia vattala guruthi is the main offering and booked for several years. Udayasthama pooja, Niramala, Rakthapushpanjali, Palpayasom are a few of the other offerings. 

The main festival of the temple is celebrated in the Malayalam month Meenam (March-April) for eight days and with innumerable processions in the presence of thousands of devotees. The 7th day is celebrated as "Valiya Vilaku", and the 8th day is celebrated as "Kaliyattom", The divine Nandhakam sword is brought in procession around the temple on 7th and 8th day on a fully decorated female elephant, and traditional art forms of Kerala is also staged in the temple. Thayambaka, pachavadyam, padhakom, ottanthullal, chakyarkoothu are also performed well on these days.
Navarathri festival is also celebrated in this temple.

The temple is open for devotees from 5.30 AM to 12 PM and from 5.30 PM to 8 PM.

Important poojas performed in the temple are Ucha pooja at 12 pm Athazha pooja at 8.00 pm. Here, Ucha Pooja is also considered as the saktheya type pooja.

Pisharikavu Temple Contact Number : +(91)-496-2620568

Pisharikavu Temple By Road
Koyilandy is 17 kms from Peruvayal. Buses, auto-rickshaws and taxis are available almost all the time to reach the temple.
Pisharikavu Temple By Rail
The nearest rail head is the Koyilandy Railway station at a distance of 3 kms from the temple.
Pisharikavu Temple By Air
The nearest airport is the Calicut International Airport at a distance of 32 kms from the temple.



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