THESREE SEETHA DEVI LAVA KUSA TEMPLE, PULPALLY , WAYANAD ,KERALA –COMPILED
Dear friends, Yesterday I watched a Video about The Sree Seetha Devi LavaKusa Temple at Pulpally in Wayanad district of Kerala and thought of writingabout the Temple today. Thetemple has been constructed by Pazhassi Raja. The temple is underPulpalli Devaswam. Pulpalli is an area in theWayanadu district, having richaffluent residents. It is about 15 KM fromMeenangadi.Forthose who are not familiar to name Wayanad, it is a hill station, about 9 steep Hairpin bendsfrom the planes. After reaching the top, one may not feel it is a hillstation at all, due to the plane vast areas. Nostalgia-While working at Calicut asDivisional Engineer I had been in Pulpalli, during new Telephone exchangeinstallation at Meenangadi. One of my Assistant Engineer was from Pulpalli byname Chackochhan. Heused to visit temples with us, common among Christians of Wayanad, he told me. Hope a divine reading. Gopalakrishnan5-5-2025. Introduction Pulpalli Seetha Devi temple has a unique position among thetemples of Kerala, and it is also among the rarest templesin India,to have installed deities of Lava and Kusha, children of Sree Rama and SeethaDevi, with active worship continuing. The legend of Sita, and her children Lavaand Kusa is closely linked to this temple. It is believed that even the name Pulpally is connected to the bed ofgrass (Dharbha) on which Lava is believed to have played as a child. Legend The temple pond is one of the largest in Wayanad. Theetymological meaning of "Seetha" denotes soil or earth. This place and the surrounding areasare believed to be the key places in the Hindu epic Ramayana. It is believed that when Seetha was abandoned by Rama, shereached Pulpally and was given shelter by the great Sage Valmiki. The place inPulpally where Sita gave birth to Lava and Kusa, is called Valmiki Ashramam. Chedattinkavu or the SreeChedattinkaavilamma Seethadevi Temple, is the original temple or 'moolasthanam'of Pulpally Temple These two sites arealso open for the public to visit. The Valmiki Ashramam, is to this daymaintained in its original ashramam like appearance. According to the legend Lava and Kusa the two sons of SeethaDevi stopped and caught the horse sent by Rama as part of the Ashwamedha. WhenRama came to free the horse, he saw Seetha and immediately she disappeared inthe earth, her mother.(Mynote- Utthara Ramayanam) While going down, her hair was caught by Rama and thusthe name Chedattinkavu or Jadayattakavu to the spot. Chedattilamma (Seetha Devi) is the presiding deity of thistemple along with Sapthamathrukkal.This temple is only 1km away from the present Sita Temple. Nei (ghee) vilakkuis a main offering here. The Seetha Devi temple ofPulpally was constructed by Sri Pazhassi Raja in the 18th century. He managed the temple for manyyears. The meetings and discussions with his army chieftainswere held in the courtyard of this temple. Later the management of thistemple came in the hands of the Kuppathode family and the renowned Nair familyin Wayanad. At that time most of the important temples in Wayanad were managedby different Nair families. The moopil nair (the chief) of Kuppathod familystayed at Nellaratt edom the headquarters of the family. Even now, a member ofthis family is designated as the trustee for the management of the temple. During the military assault, Tipu sultan of Mysore planned todestroy this temple. But it is believed that he had toretreat because of the darkness created at noon by the supreme power of GoddessSeetha. Another remarkable thing about this temple is that leeches, that are very common in most parts of Wayanad are not foundin the area surrounding this temple. According to the legend, goddess Seethacursed the leeches that bit Lava and Kusa and banished them from Pulpally. Another significant thing about this place is that a large number of termite mounds(valmeekam) can be seen at different spots. This is associated with the sageValmiki, who authored the Ramayana. History The present Sitadevi Lavakusa temple was built during theregime of Veera Kerala Varma Pazhassiraja. About chief deities The primary deity of thePulpalli temple is Sita Devi. It is believed that Sita was staying here during her exileat Valmiki Ashrama. The Sita Devi idol here is known as -Jadayatha Amma-. It isbelieved that Lava and Kusha grew up in this place. The original name of this placewas Sisumala and later changed to Sasimala. Many devotees consider Sasimala as a sacred place because ofits connection with the story of Lava and Kusha. It was the favoured shrine of the Pazhassi Raja. Other deities In addition to Sitadevi(Chedattilamma) and Murikkanmar (Lavaand Kusa) Ayyappan, Ganapathy ,Subrahmanian and Vettakkorumakan (Siva) areworshipped along with a stone image of Serpant (Nagam). Poojas The poojas of the temple are done by the priests ofChathanattu Illam and Kozhikkottiri Mana. There are three Poojas every day inthe temple. Pooja Timings Sidadevi Temple Chedattinkav 5.00 AM to 12.30 PM 6..30AM to 11.30 AM 5.30 PM to 7.30 PM 5.30PM to 7 PM Festivals The temple festival, celebrated in the first week of January,also considered to be the regional festival, is attended by a large number ofpeople belonging to different castes and creed. The temple festival which is celebrated annually in the month ofJanuary, and attracts people from various parts of Wayanad. In addition to that in the month of Makaram, Revathy day isobserved as installation day. The main festival (Chuttuvilakku) is celebrated from 18th to23rd of Dhanu. Irrespective of religion,caste and creed people from all walksof life attend and cooperate with the annual festival with great enthusiasm anddevotion. A festival committee headed by the Devaswam trustee is in charge ofthe celebrations. In the earlier days Devaswam owned 14899 acres of land and somany elephants. The last one elephant named Sankarankutty passed away in 2012.The land was lost by the encroachments during the migration of people fromTravancore. Other Templesassociated with Seetha Devi temple These are some other temples in the area associated with themain legend. Ponkuzhi Sita Temple,Muthanga Believed to be the built over the site where Lakshmanaabandoned Sita in the forest on Rama's orders. Local legends consider thenearby lake to have been made by Sita's tears. Sree Valmiki Ashramam,Ashramam Kolli Legends consider this the location of Valmiki's abode. Theabandoned Sita was provided refuge in the hermitage of the Sage Valmiki. Shealso gave birth to her twin sons, Lava and Kusha here. The site is maintainedas a traditional hermitage, with thatched roof, and an open structure. Nearby there is a large mass of rockcalled Munipara, where Ratnakaran is said to have done the intense tapasya thattransformed him into the legendary sage we revere today. Irulam Sree Seetha DeviLava-Kusha Temple This temple is said to be built over the place where SitaDevi and her sons rested after a day of playing in the forest. As the sun hadcome down, it is believed that Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu directed them here toensure the protection of Sita and her children. Sisumala Sita Lava-Kusha Temple This temple is located in the place where Lava and Kusha usedto roam merrily in the dense jungle under the supervision of their mother Sita.Because of this the site came to called 'Sisumala', which means 'children'shill' or 'hill of children' in Malayalam. Offerings Nei(ghee) vilakku is amain offering here. The main nivedyam for Sitadevi is white rice, payasam andsweet appam to Murikkanmar. Special poojas are there during the 41 days of mandalaseason. Specialty Pulpally is the only placewhere Sitadevi is worshipped with her children Lava and Kusa. Administration Now the Trustee and manager of the Devaswam are appointedfrom the Kuppathode Family by Malabar Devaswam board as per the Scheme framedin 1945. Kuppathode rajasekharan nair is the present trustee. Location Pulpally is situated on the north east part of Wayanadadjoing Karnataka. It is 16 Kms away from Panamaram on the Kalpetta Manantoddyroad, 25 kms from Sultans Battery on the Kozhikode Mysore NH 212. Specialty of pond There is a pond filled with pandanus(Screw pine) trees nearthe temple. It is believed that Pazhassiraja threw away his Golden sword andother valuable belongings in this pond. This spot is also considered to be veryambalam sacred. Karimam, the officicial residence of the Trustee is also aninseparable part of the temple. A lamp is lighted there also. Vellattu thara Near the temple there is a Vellattuthara. According to thelegend it was the play ground of Lava and Kusa. On the second day of everyMalayalam month except Karkkidakam and Vrischikam a special ceremony calledVellattu is observed there by the members of Kalanadi tribe. Valmeeki Aashramam Valmeeki Aashramam(Hermitage) which is supposed to be the Poorvasthanamof the temple attract many people because it is believed that Sage Valmeekiresided there along with Sita and Lava Kusa. After Vishu, the 7th day, Pooja isperformed there. There is a big rock in the down valley and people believe thatValmeeki Maharshi meditated there, sitting on it. According to old people whenfinger is rubbed on the rock, sandal paste comes out in the olden days.Sisumala( now transformed as Sasimala ), a small hill was also the spot where Lava andKusha roamed merrily. Near the temple there is a special place for Hanuman, theloyal attendant of Goddess Sita. May the glory of Pulpally continue for ever.May the Almighty Goddess Sita bestore her blessings on all those who visit thisholy place. Bommadhan Thara This small thatched shed is situated about 4km away from**Seethadevi temple. It is believed that sage valmiki stayed here in his ashramand he gave shelter to seetha when she was deserted by Rama. Valmeeki himselfwas originally a demon called Ratnakaran who was later transferred into a greatsage after a long period of meditation in a Hermite mount. During vijayadasamiday parents brings the young ones to this spot for initiation into the world ofalphabets. a good collection of brass lambs (donated by devotees)is anattraction of this ashram.Two red flower that blossom onthe"mandaram"tree every day remind the devotees of Lava and Kusha whostayed at valmeeki's ashram Vellattuthara It is an important place connected with seetha devi temple.On every month a special pooja and vellattu are conducted here. The main objectives of the foundationis to make studies about Ramayana arrange facilities for research on Ramayanaorganize a world class library , conduct discussions and seminars aboutRamayana both in local and international clss and to expose valmeeki aasramamto the 21 century. For better funtioning of the Foundation two divisions areformed. Academic Centre Seminar Centre Several activities such as quiz programme on Ramayana forstudents, painting competition on Ramayana, chanting competition of Ramayanafor the public etc will be conducted in connection with Temple Festival on thefirst week of January The main aimof this centre will be to organise seminars, discussions,keep a website andgive exposure to valmeeki Ashram. In Sree Pulpally Murikkanmar Devaswam, Murikkanmar(Munikumaranmar) children of sage are also having the same importance ofSeethadevi idols) Wayanad is well knownas tourist’s paradise. It is also the sacred land of CHEDATTILAMMA, ThirunellyPerumal and Valliyooramma. The high peak like Bhrahmagiri and Banasura and theriver kabani give aprisitine beauty to this land. The natural beauty of wayanadonce attracted Mahathma Gandhi and he remarked that it is the Kashmir of South India. The region is a hub of high value spices and plantation cropslike Coffee, Pepper,Tea, Carrdamom, Rubber, turmeric and Ginger. The name Wayanad is believed to be derived from the wordvayalnadu, meaning the land of paddy fields. The idyllic nature of wayanad, its nearness to Ooty andMysore, with well laid roads to these centers offers tremendous touristpotential. Address: Sita Devi temple,Pulpally, Kerala 673579 Phone: 04936 241 175 Entry Fee and Timingsof Seethadevi Lava Kusha Temple, Wayanad There is no entry fee to visit Seethadevi Lava Kusha Temple.It is open for its visitors from 5:00 AM to 12:30 PM and then from 5:30 PM to7:30 PM on all days. Best Time to VisitSeethadevi Lava Kusha Temple, Wayanad The winter season, whichstarts in October and continues until March is considered the best time to visit the SeethadeviLava Kusha Temple. During these months, the weather is relatively cooler andmore comfortable compared to the hot and humid summer months. The temperatureranges from around 15°C to 30°C, making it ideal for outdoor activities andtemple visits. -- 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 visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/752454728.864286.1746430985969%40mail.yahoo.com.
