Kallil Bhagawathi
temple , Methala, Perumbavur
Compiled By
P.R.Ramachander
One of the oldest
temples in Kerala is the Kallil Bhagawathi temple near Methala village
which is near Perumbavur .It is
believed that it is 5000 years old. The temple is in the middle of 28 acres
of forest (once belonging to Kallil Pisharam) on a top of the rock
.We have to climb 120 steps to reach there .You would see only stones
every where in the temple.It
seems once upon a time a very Goddess was playing
with stone balss(throwing up and
catching them) ,When people neared heer, along with the stones she was playing , it seems , she ran
inside a cave and vanished..The ball that she threw to the top , according to belief became the roof
of the temple(It stands
there without any support) and
the ball which came down became
the floor of the temple. People believe
that even if 15 elephants pull to gather
the roof does not move at all.According to people the huge rock standing without any
support is a real wonder of the world.
There are two
mjor offering to the goddess
1.
A broom stick(chool nercha) for hair to grow to ladies.The broom it seems
should be made with Broom sticks
whch have not been touched by steel( ie you shouls not tear of palm leaves by a steel knife)
2.
The other offering is stones(kal nercha) from half built houses we are building. This is for quick completion
of the buildings.People believe that the
home will be completed within a year
Once we achieve the results of the prayer , we are
supposed to return to the temple
and thank the Goddess.
Since the temple is in a cave and the goddess is consecrated at the end of the cave we cannot
do Pradakshina for her. So the
goddess as well as the stone is
saluted .She is also called “Kallil
arulunna devi( Goddess who is
pleased with stone) .There are small
temples for Ganesa , Vishnu, Shiva Yakshi and Kari Naga Yakshi around the temple.>in
the temple there is Bali Kallu and
Namaskara mandapam also ,In the roof
hanging stone you can see the form of
Brahma also
There is a belief
that this was a jain temple and
the Goddess is a Jain
Goddess called Padmavathi.People also believe that the jain statues of Paraswanatha and Maha veera slowly became Lord Vishnu
and Lord Shiva.
The festival of the
temple is on Ksarthika star of Vruschiga month.The festival is for 8 days.It is interesting to know the Devi
travels on a female elephant
Previously the temple
used to be closed after noon pooja but
nowadays , there is a deeparadhana and pooja in the evening also.
There is a place
called Odakkali between Peruimpavur and Kothamangalam. This temple is 4 km from Odakkali( ten km
from Perumbavor)
The idol being worshipped as Goddess Durga used to be
that of Sree Padmavati during the Jain period and the idol of Vardhamana
Mahavira is being worshipped now as Lord Siva. Idols of Lord Vishnu, Ganapati
and Ayyappa were installed in the same cave later on. The fascinating feature
about the temple is the mystery on how the boulder of size 50ft x 25 t x 15 ft
stays atop the temple without any damage for so long. Idol of Lord Brhama can
be seen carved at the huge rock . The three trinity i.e Brhama, Shiva and
Vishnu are also worshiped here.
Palliunarthal at 5.30 AM, After that opening the
Sanctorum(Sree Kovil), Nirmalya Darsanam, Abhishekam,Malar Nivedyam, Ethruthu
Pooja at 7 AM., Ucha Pooja at 10.15 AM. Opening Sanctorum evening at 5 PM.,
Deeparadhana at 6.30 PM, Athazha Pooja at 7.15 PM and after that the temple
closes.
The address of the
temple is
Shri Kallil Bhagavathi Temple
Kallil Pishaarathu Devaswam
Methala P.O. Methala
Ernakulam Kerala , India
Pin: 683545
Kallil Pishaarathu Devaswam
Methala P.O. Methala
Ernakulam Kerala , India
Pin: 683545
Phone is +91 99477983023
Kallil Bhagavathi Temple is a cave temple
which is just 10 km away from Perumbavoor. Angamaly Railway Station is
just 5 km way and Ernakulam Junction, the major rail-head, is located about 45
km from here and Aluva Station is about 25 km from here. Cochin International
Airport is located about 25 km form here. Cochin Airport is one of the major
Airports in India and Kerala State and is attended by many airlines at regular
interval.