Mannar Kurathikadu Pattambalam

Mannar  Kurathikadu Pattambalam

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

(Most of the material is from the web site  of the temple -http://www.pattambalam.org/ . My grateful acknowledgement to them.)

    The goddess Pattamalathilamma   has a  temple in Kurattikadu Pattambalam   is situated in mannar  which is near Kayamkulam  and is 11 km from Mavelikkara  Railway   station .This place is 130 km from Cochin air port.Here the Hoddess BHavaneswari one of the Dasa Maha Vidhyas is  consecrated  ,She is generally referred as  “Valia Amma” (great mother) .Along with her , there are temples    for BHadra, Ganapathi and Krishna  in the temple Her devotees   take permission from her to buy property, build a house  , celebrate the first  rice food for the baby  etc. They  wear  new cloths  or  first attend school or join in their  first job. .They start a journey after   lighting a lamp  before her .Her devotees believe that she is the daughter of Panayannarkavu Bhagawathi whose temple can be reached only after  crossing river Pampa. Once in a  year  the festival called  Anpoli  areepara Mahothsavam  which is celebrated from Medam 10^th to 27^th .Daily the Valia Amma visits the homes of her devotees in different villages. She is received by them with great fan fare .The procession everyday returns to the temple at 12  noon.   On Medam 13^th the Goddess  starts her journey to her mothers house. .All her devotees including the  members and president of  her temple  line up  on the  shore of the Pampa river not allowing the Godess   to cross  the Pampa river. This is done because they are afraid that once she goes to her mother’s house    she may  not return.On Medam 15^th Amma   goes to the CHangayil house and collects  , One Para(14 litres) of paddy from that house and goes to other houses. But she again returns   to Changayil house to collect  and colled five more measures of paddy  , as promised  by one of the lady ancestors of the family .Then only she gives blessings to the family and go back to the temple  .This  is called  Changayil ottam.On  24^th Medam the Ama receives the  offerings from Harijans in the form of harvested paddy.A para is not insisted because  , they were considered poor .Now many of them offer the Para to the goddess

I   am quoting in extensor from the web site of the temple about this great festival called “Anpoli areepara  Mahothsavam

    Anpoli Areeppara is the most important event of our temple. It is the annual temple festival of 18 days from Medam 10th to 27th. On these days our mother visited her people at their doorsteps to receive their offerings as Paras and to bless them in person. Early in the morning Her Highness is brought out from the sanctum sanctorum with royal gaiety and drums in the Holy Jeevatha embedded with the Moolabimbam and is royally placed on the peetha. To receive two Anpoli Paras everyday. A customary rhythmic dance of the priest shouldering the Jeevatha is followed along with the special Poojas in the Seva Panthal. Then the Holy procession sets off.

          Every household , cleaned and decorated await eagerly for the farbound sounds of Her procession reaching their door. Amma is welcomed with fireworks and vaikuravas and offerings of flowers, paddy,fruits ,aval, malar in the form of para are offered. The accompanying crowd is treated everywhere with fruits, feast and pleasantries. The process goes on uninterrupted until late night and at about 12’o clock the procession returns to the temple and then the daily ritualistic ‘poojas’ and ‘nivedyams’ are offered in the presence of a huge crowd. After this, Amma is once again ritually brought out accompanied by royal drum beats and ‘vaikuravas’ to perform the Anpoli at the zero hours and in most cases in the early hours.

         ‘Anpoli panthal’ which is considered as a temporary temple is already erected to the north of ‘Elanjithara’ and an ‘Anpoli Kalam’ decorated with divine ritual drawings and fragrant flowers is kept in purity and lighted with Nilavilakku is there in front of the Anpoli Panthal. The rhythmic ritual dance of the shouldering priest in tune to the royal drum beats, come out of the Mathilkettu after 3 rounds around the temple, slowly approaches the Anpoli kalam in ritual steps. Large crowds follow and vaikuravas and fire crackers resounds through out the night. Amma mount in the Jeevatha on the shoulders of the priest ritually dancing on their steps, slowly awakened in this high concentration of dance, music, vaikuravas and the fire crackers. All of a sudden enters the Anpoli Kalam in the dense forest of light and oil lamps, and performs her own divine dance revelation. The priest becomes unconscious, faints and falls. Great fire works follows. Offerings there are distributed as prasadams to crowds of devotees thronging there and dakshinas are given. Amma is brought back to the SreeKovil. The process is to begin early morning next day   The temple is also running  a school in the village   called Bhuvaneswari  Higher secondary school..