PANACHIKKADU TEMPLE-KOTTAYAM

PANACHIKKADU TEMPLE-KOTTAYAM-CHINGAVANAM

Panachikkadu Temple' is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Saraswati - the goddess of Knowledge and victory - situated at Panachikkad in Kottayam, Kerala, India. It is also known as theDakshina Mookambika(Mookambika of the south) Temple, as it is a Saraswati temple located in the Southern region of the Indian peninsula. It is also one of the prominent Saraswati temples in Kerala.

The Panachikkadu Saraswati temple has Vishnu as the main deity.The devotees worship Vishnu first before worshipping Saraswathi as per the custom. Ganapathy, Shiva, Sasthavu and Yakshi are the sub-deities worshipped in this temple. In the ‘lthihyamala’of kottarathil sankunni there is a detailed description of this temple-this temple having more than one thousand years of history, Kizhapuram Illam once had no boys to carry out the rites. The Namboodiri was about 60 years of age and lost all his hope of having a descendant. So he went to Varanasi to have a bath in holy Ganges. On the way reaching mookambika he stayed there for a few days praying to the deity there. Serenity of the place embraced him and he decided to practice bhajan there for a year. After spending a year in the temple the old man had a dream. In that a beautiful lady came and told him that it is impossible to have a child for him in this life. The woman also told him that it will be better for him to go back to his place and will be able to adopt a child from nearby Karunattu family as the lady of that family will have two children in the near future. The old man accepted his fate and returned to his home land. On reaching Panachikad he decided to have a bath in the temple pond. He put his Olakuda (umbrella made of palm-leaf) on the southern side of the temple and went to the pond. After the bath when he tried to lift the umbrella it stood firm on the ground. Perplexed by this Namboodiri stood thoughtful. Then a man came from nowhere as if to solve the puzzle. According to him, Mookambika Devi is staying in the umbrella and Namboodiri will have to transfer the divinity to an idol first before he tries to take the umbrella again. He also told that an idol suitable for this is laying hidden in the proximate forest but before taking that he has to appease an Yakshi(female demon) who is protecting the idol. Namboodiri did as the man ordered. Thenceforth Panachikkad devi started showing her divinity in that place. Another small idol was also placed facing west as archana bimbam. As there is no roof above the main idol and the spot where the idol is placed is in a low terrain filled with water, one will get a feeling that devi is seated in the middle of a pond. The main idol now is covered by creepers and shrubs and is not clearly visible. Two things specially to be noticed here are the creepers and the immaculate spring. The leaves of the creepers which cover the idol are considered saraswathy leaves. The water comes from the spring here flows touching the feet of the “Devi” never dries even in the peak time of summer. Since the devi remains on such a Saras (small rivulet) the name saraswathy becomes meaningful. The water required for poojas and other needs are taken from the spring. No well or other water sources are available here.

Above the saraswathy temple on the western side there is a natural habitat made of exotic plants and their fragrant flowers. Here lives the ‘yakshi’ who is at once fastidious and easily made happy. The idol of ‘brahmarakshasu’ is also installed here. Even though there are yakshi shrines in other temples, as well, the power of the yakshi at panachikadu seem to be super.The idol of Yakshi has no structure to cover. It is installed under the trees like Elinji and Ezhilam Pala. The trusteeship of the shrine is vested with Kizhapuram, Karunattu and Kaimukku Namboodiri Illams. They are the residents of Panachikkadu. The boys of the Illams used to carry out the rites here.

Stone carvings on the walls illustrate Vishnu and his servants playing a game similar to modern day Volutobol. This competition is perhaps a physical presentation of Vishnu's "Preservation of the Universe", as Vishnu is clearly dominating the opposition with his many arms. These inscriptions also suggest that India, not Italy, is the birthplace of the game.

The major festival of this temple is the Saraswati Pooja in the month of Thulam [A month in the Malayalam calendar known as Kollavarsham (Kolla era) which falls approximately in September–October]. During this festival, also known as Navaratri (Nine Nights), a large number of pilgrims congregate here to pay homage to the deity.

From various parts of India devotees come here for ‘Darshan’ Irrespective of religions people come here for ‘Vidyarambham’ (the ceremony of beginning education). The ceremony of Vidyarambham(formal initiation into the letters of the alphabet) for the children is held on Vijayadashami (last day of Navaratri) day. On that day lakhs of people arrive at this temple to initiate learning to their children. A major international cultural festival of classical dance and music is held in the temple for the duration of the nine nights to coincide with the festival.

HOW TO REACH PANACHIKKADU?

Panachikkadu can be reached from Chingavanam (4 km) by travelling through MC Road and from Eravinalloor (2.5 km). Address: Dakshina Mookambika Temple Panachikkad, Kuzhimattom P.O., Kottayam, Kerala, India, 686533

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