Kodimoottil Sri Bhagavathy Bhadrakaali Temple Parippally Kollam Kerala

Kodimoottil Sri Bhagavathy Bhadrakaali Temple Parippally Kollam Kerala

Kodimoottil Sri Bhadrakaali Temple is the most famous temple in Parippally, Kollam. The "Prathista" (idol) in this temple is Bhadrakali devi. Shiva, Ganapathi, Nacagrihangal are also there as Upaprathista. There are a number of utsavams in this temple. The mahotsavam is held every year during the month of March for ten days, starting with the pongala. Ladies from all parts of Kollam and Trivandrum districts participate in it.Gajamela, an elephant procession, is the main attraction of the Mahotsavam, which occurs on the ninth day. The temple is managed by ezhava community, but people from all castes participate in the festival. Navarathri is also celebrated here as a festival. It is a family temple of Kodimootil family.Located at Paripally in Kalluvathukkal Panchayat. This shrine is co-related to Mandakkadu Devi temple. The story behind the co-relation is interesting. The eldest male member of the Kodimootil family was a staunch believer of Kandakkadu Devi. He used to light oil lamp assumed for Devi in the premises of his home and prayed before it. Later this task was entrusted to his young grand daughter. One day when she came to light the lamp she noticed a a soil mount like the one created by white ants on the side of lighting spot. She removed it and went through the process of lighting. Next day she again noticed soil mount which too she removed. This process continued for days and ultimately she reported the matter to the grand father. He visualized the presence of Devi and conducted a Devaprasanam (astrological verification) when his visualization was confirmed. Soon after, he raised a temple and installed the deity.The co-relation is also reflected in the festivals in these two temples. The 10-day festival ends on the last Monday of Kumbam (February/March) whereas in Mandakkadu temple the festival concludes on the last Tuesday of Kumbam. The one day difference in the concluding days at both the temples is to enable the eldest male of Kodimootil family to go to the Mandakkadu temple with Irumudikettu (auspicious bundle containing sanctified food items on the head) to participate in the final day of festival in Mandakkadu temple as obligatory.The 10-day festival begins with Pongala on the 1st day in which several thousands of women participate. The next important event is Paduka which is a ritual found only here. The devotees together with relatives and neighbours collect ritual items and bring them in baskets to the temple with Vadyagosham (percussion musics). This procedure is Paduka. It is done region-wise in order to control the crowd. The concluding day is earmarked for Shayana Pradikshana. Devotee blinds his eyes with cloth bandage and both the hands (stretched) and both the legs (stretched) tied with cloth. Thereafter lay bare body in the outer courtyard ground of the temple and circamambulate three times. This is Shayana Pradikshana. This ritual starts from 4 in the morning. The individuals with Vritam (fast) who participate in this ritual come accompanied by percussion musics and artifacts. Several people participate in this ritual.

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