Pachalloor Bhadra Kali
temple, Trivandrum
Complied by
P.R.Ramachander
This is a
famous BHadrakali temple situated 7 km
from Trivandrum on the Trivandrum-0Kovalam
route. It is also referred to as Pachalloor CHudukadu (cremation ground) Bhadrakali. It is supposed to be a very
ancient temple and is included in the
list of 64 Shaiva holy places in Vizhinjam. But there is an interesting story about it.
There was a learned Acharya , who was
the head of the famous Valiya Vila
family which was located in this area.
One day when he was returning home
he saw two old and tired ladies sitting
in the shade of the banyan tree
.When the gentleman enquired with them, they tld him that they are from Kodungallore .Seeing that they are very
worn out he offered them Tender coconut, Puffed rice and banana
fruit. When he reached his home he saw one of those old ladies sitting in the pooja room of his house. But
next day morning she had disappeared but
in the place where she was sitting , there was a glowing lamp filled
with ghee . The Goddess from then on
used to give Darsan to the head of that family once in a while from
then on. And that house was later made
in to the temple of Pachalloor . There is also a story that after Bhadra Kali killed Dharikan , she was greatly angry and no one could pacify her .Lord Shiva who
was her creator pacified her and made
her to stay in Pachalloor so that she could take care of her devotees. There
is also a belief that the old
lady from Kodungallore who became goddess
there is Kannagi herself .During
festivals the story of Kannagi is sung at this temple.
In the temple
the Goddess has a peaceful form and
faces north., There are temples of Ganesa, Sastha nd Nagar(serpents) in the temple compound. There
is also a temple for Kanda karnan below the banyan tree
in the temple. He is
believed to be the brother of the Goddess
There is daily worship in the evening.Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays are more important. Tender coconuts , Puffed rice and fruits are
generally offered to the Goddess. Kadum Payasam (Very sweet jiggery kheer) is another important offering. The temple opens at 12 noon, closes at 2 P.M and again
opens at 5,30 Pm and is open upto 8.30
PM There is Deeparadhana at 1.30 PM,
&.30 PM and 8 Pm. On every first
day of the Malayalam month the temple
is open from 5.30 Am in the morning .
One of the
important forms of worship of the
Goddess is Nercha thookkam.This consists of Devi
Dasans hanging on a bow carrying a child and
doing a round of the temple. There
are no restrictions of caste , religion or creed for this form of worship.The web
site of the temple says,
“There are many unique features about the customs and
pooja rites followed in this temple for years. The poojari (priest)
is from the ‘Kolla’ community. The heavy rope for the ‘Nercha
Thookka Villu’ comes from a family from the Ezhava community and
the ‘Katcha’ comes from the ‘Mannar’ community. Carpenters
from the ‘Aasari’community make the ‘Thookka villu’. The ‘Chanam’ is
brought by a family from the ‘Araya’ community. The ‘Parikarmi’ are
people from the ‘Thattaar’ community before whom ‘Panam’ (cash)
is offered on the ‘Pallippalaka’ on the first day of festival. The
drums (Chenda) accompanying Devi are played by people from ‘Paanar’ community
and people mainly from the ‘Thandaar’ community are the Devidaasas.
When the human race distances itself by building
boundaries in the name of caste and religion, people become members of one
family in front of the ‘Boon-giver’Pachallooramma. They are devotees, children
of Pachallooramma.”
This ritual
is on the seventh day of the festival
of the temple which starts on the
Makeeram day of the month of Kumbha. The
people who offer themselves to the ritual
starts penance from the first day
of festival itself. The devotee is hung by the bow , while he would be carrying a child and villu would take one round of the temple .Several children would be
waiting for their turn and would continue till the next day morning as people believe
that once their baby undergoes nercha
thookkal, their future is secure On the eight day the ladies around the temple
offer Pongala to the Goddess The
festival comes to an end with Kuruthi
Tharppanam on the ninth day when Thatta
nevedhyam is offered to the Goddess. There is a you tube video on the temple festival –
You can see large
number of photos of the temple in https://www.facebook.com/pachallooramma/photos
The temple can
be contacted in e mail id pachallooramma@gmail.com . The administration
of the temple is looked after by Nair
Service Society , Pachalloor, Trivandrum -27.
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