Mathur Mannampully Bhagavathy Temple
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Mahavidya Temple
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Kerala, a state in India is renowned for Mother Goddess worship. Mathur Mannampully Bhaghavathy temple situated in the Palakkad district of Kerala is a Bhadrakali temple with an interesting history. It is said that the Devi was found in the hollow trunk of a tamarind tree. Despite the trunk being hollow the tree is alive and flourishing to the amazement of botanists, who estimate the tree to be more than 300 years old. It is believed that the temple is very ancient and was a very small structure till about 15 years back.
In the olden days the area was known as Mannampully, which was the centre of the community ‘mandram’ (the tamarind tree was the embodiment of nature worship). In the Janmi-kudian system that existed at that time, the king of Kochi, Poomullimana and Peringod Nair clans lived in Uraaima. (rights to the land). Peringod Nair who was a great Mantrikan, someone who is well versed in Mantras. After some years, Peringottu Karanavar who was looking after temple, left this temple and went on a pilgrimage to the Himalayas, never to return
The community around the temple now, comprising of about 12 Desams, as they are called in Kerala, were going through some tough times and to find a solution approached an astrologer who was well versed in the art of Prashnam, an astrological process followed in Kerala. It was then revealed that they have to take care of Devi regularly as opposed to the practice of celebrating a festival once a year. They were looking around to find an appropriate person who could do that.
T N Parameswaran, (Ganesh swami)the present Mel Shanthi (the High Priest is called thus in Kerala) was working in Mumbai as a hardware engineer. His family originates from Mathur and once when he was on his way to Mathur for holidays he went to worship Devi in the Mookambika temple in Karnataka, a neighboring state of Kerala. As he was coming out of the temple an unknown elderly gentleman called out to him and told him that he would get a call from Bhadrakali soon, to his complete amazement. Wondering what he meant, he reached his hometown of Mathur. One day as he was walking by the temple area another man called him over and enquired whether he would take care of a Bhadrakali temple. It was then he realized that his calling had come and readily agreed. Coming from a devout family and aware of all the rituals required, he decided to quit his job in Mumbai and relocate to Mathur and take care of temple and start regular rituals in the temple which was really small then.
Over a period of almost two decades, slowly through support from some well-wishers, he has been building up the temple bit by bit and today has reached a stage where the basic facilities have been constructed.
It has become one of the rare Bhadrakali temples in the district where sattvic worship continues with Tantric commitment. All 10 Maha Vidya Yoginis are enshrined here in Swarupasankalpa, a rare occurrence in South India itself. The main deity is Bhadrakali under the tamarind tree. A rare blend of Satvic rituals and tantric practices flourishes here. Arayal marriage (with neem tree) has attracted much attention as a new manifestation of nature worship.
Adjacent to the temple are the deities of Shri Kurumba Bhagavathy, Pileri Bhagavathy, and Ganapathi, Ayyappan & Gurunathan, who are the sub-deities of the temple. Devotees regard the temple as a manifestation of Bhadrakali spirit.
The temple has evolved to become one of the dominant temples in Central Kerala. All the 12 Desams and associated communities are given equal importance here breaking the boundaries of communalism. Even people from other states are regularly attracted here. The Vela festival falls on the 4th day after Vishu (Kerala New Year) every year and is celebrated by the villagers in a grand manner.
A Trust has been established to manage the temple, Mathur Sree Mannampully Kavu Devaswom. The Trust plans to complete the construction of the temple as envisaged in the master plan and perform a Mahakumbhabishekam in the third or last quarter of 2024 on an auspicious day to be determined.
address : mathur sree mannampully kavu devasom,
mathur(p.o),palakkad -678571
mail id : mathurbagavathy@gmail.com
ph.no : 9447003359
future plan
VISHU VELA:
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