Chottanikkara Bhagavathy Temple
Kochi

Presiding Deity:
Bhagawati

Chottanikkara enshrines Bhagawati and is located near the city of Ernakulam. Rajarajeswari is the presiding deity and is made of laterite; untouched by the hands of sculptor, this image is of irregular shape and covered with a golden kavach. Of the four arms of the image, the upper right holds the discus and the left a conch. This deity is worshipped in three forms - as Saraswati in the morning, draped in white, as Bhadrakali at noon draped in crimson, and as Durga in the evening decked in blue. An image of Vishnu in granite is adjacent in the sanctum and Vishnu and Bhagawati together are referred to as Lakshminarayana. Interestingly, the image here is not fixed to the ground and is mounted on loose sand. Water offered during ablution ceremonies percolates underground.

There is also a shrine to Sastha depicting him with his consorts Purna and Pushkala. In front of the shrine are the flagstaff and the bali pitham. To the south is a platform known as Pavazhamallithara where the deity is believed to have appeared first. To the southwest is a shrine to Shiva. To the northeast there is a flight of steps leading to the Keezhkaavu, a shrine to Bhadrakali.

In the keezhkaavu shrine is a paala tree with hundreds of nails driven into its trunk, as a mark of devotees having been exorcised here. Worship here is believed to rid devotees of evil influences, psychological ailments, and evil spirits.

Legend has it that a ferocious dacoit by name Kannappan, brought home a cow with the intent of slaughtering it. The cow escaped and set him running in pursuit. Failing to find the cow, Kannappan returned home to find his beloved daughter playing with the very same cow and he forsake the idea of killing the cow at her request. he was in agreived when his daughter passed away and Goddess Bhagawati appeared in his dream, revealing that it was she who had come to him in the form of a cow. He had a vision of Devi and Vishnu in the cowshed the following day and built a humble shrine and worshipped the images in the cowshed. Eventually this shrine was discovered later and sanctified and grew into a shrine of the magnitude seen today.

 

 

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