SREE KOLLAM PISHARIKKAVU BHAGAVATHY-FORWARD Dear friends, While working at Calicut I was told aboutthe famous Pisharikkavu Bhagavathy Temple near Quilandy. However I could not make a visit. Abouta week back I found a good article about the temple. I am forwardingthe same
Gopalakrishnan Dated 20-5-2022 Sree KollamPisharikkavu Bhagavathy Temple is a must visit temple in the North Malabarregion of Kerala. Pisharikavu Temple is located at a pristine village near Kollam-Koyilandi in Kozhikodedistrict. It is about 30 kms from Kozhikkode town and is situated onthe NH-17. One can easily reach there by bus or train. The nearest railwaystation is Koyilandi. It is believed that this temple was once situated in theKollam region of Erstwhile Travancore district and was shifted here by Bhagavathy's devotees when they had fled fromtheir native place. My note- I was told how a Quilon came nearQuilandy by my colleagues while working at Calicut Bhagavathy is worshipped as fierce Bhadrakaalihere and the sword of Bhadrakali, known as "Nandhakam" is being offered with Pujas at theSanctum Sanctorum. Here the main deity Bhadra is facing North, andthere is a Shiva temple facing East. Sree Sastha is the sub-deity of this temple. The huge temple pond here is called"Chira" and it is a visual treat to the devotees visitinghere. Legend: Once, a clan offamilies from Pandyakingdom belonging to 'Vaisya' tribe came to the Kollam district inTravancore desam and settled there to expand their business in Gold and silk.The eldest of the family was an ardent devotee of "Sree PorkkaliBhagavathy" and he did penance for many years praying for Her blessings.Devi became pleased with his devotion and appeared in his sleep and offered hersword "Nandhakam" to the family as a symbol of Her blessings. He found the divine sword besidehim when he woke up. he took it to Kollam and built a temple therefor worshipping Bhagavathy and her divine sword. Since this devotee was also afamous "Visha haari" ie. one who cures some one from poison death,this temple came to be popular as "Visha hari kavu" and later to "Visharikkavu". By worshippingBhagavathy the Vysya family grew their business very quickly with overseastrades and their wealth knew no bounds. Slowly they became very proud andegoistic and even challenged the King of Travancore. The angry King deported the eight families of Vysyas andthey fled in boats along Arabian sea with their possessions and the"Nandhakam"sword given by Bhagavathy. They reached Koyilandi coast belongingto Kurumbanadu Raja and descended there to start anew. They bought landfor their settlements from the King and obtained permission to build a templefor Sree Bhadrakaali. They built a grand temple at Mannanmangalam village nearKoyilandi and withrespect to their old temple named it as "Kollam Visharikkavu" whichlater came to called as "KOllam Pisharikkavu". They placedthe "nandhakam sword" in the sanctum along with Bhadrakaali idol. Theeldest Vysya of the family did the pujas and offerings at the temple and thefamily prospered there. Devi was worshipped according to the "Kaula"rituals and meat and toddy were offered to her for the "naivedya'. Later abrahmin family was appointed as thepriests and these rituals were stopped. Then Bhagavathy's powersmultiplied manyfold and it became impossible for devotees to enter the temple. Then the brahmin priests were stopped and "vattoli moossath"were bestowed with the duties and the earlier rituals were started again. Offerings: Valia vattala guruthiis the main offering and booked for several years. Udayasthama pooja, Niramala,Rakthapushpanjali, Palpayasom are a few of the other offerings. Festivals: Kaliyattam:Kodiyettam This grand festivalis celebrated annually in the Malayalam month of "Meenam" and lastseight days. The "kodiyettam" or festival flag hoisting is done on along bamboo pole. On the first 6 days of festival the idol of Bhagavathy istaken out for procession and on the last two days the "Nandhakam" swordis taken out. On the seventh day is the "Valiya Vilakku Mahotsavam"and on the eighth day"Kaliyattam" is performed. An oracle or"velichappadu" holds the Sword during procession on a decoratedfemale elephant. This festival attracts thousands of devotees from near andfar. Traditional artforms of Kerala are staged in the temple during festival days. Thayambaka,pachavadyam, padhakom, ottanthullal, chakyarkoothu are also performed on thesedays. Navarathri festival is also celebrated in this temple ina grand manner. Devayanam Wednesday, 30 November2016 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/221729078.751409.1653061711157%40mail.yahoo.com.
