Chottanikkara temple, Kochi

In the suburbs of Kochi, on a little hillock sits the fierce Goddess Chottanikkara Amma. Today I will take you on a visit to the Chottanikkara temple.

There are two Goddesses in the temple, the Melkaavamma, or the Goddess of the upper shrine (roughly translated), and the Keezhkaavamma, or the Goddess of the shrine below. Once a wild forest, Chottanikkara (the place is named after the temple) today is a part of the city, with buildings coming up in and around the place. Originally called Jyothianakkara, it is now colloquially called Chottanikkara.

There are several colourful shops before the temple, which sell amulets, CDs, portraits of Gods, and trinkets. There are hotels and lodges within walking distance of the temple. Luckily, there is ample provision for parking vehicles of all types. There are frequent buses that connect Chottanikkara to the rest of the city.

We hop off the bus, and walk right up to the temple’s main gates. The temple has roped off about fifty metres of space in front of the main gates, to prevent vehicles from entering. We cross the barriers, and enter. On one side is a footwear stand, where we leave our footwear in exchange for a dusty cardboard token. After washing our feet at the taps placed a little ahead, we step over the threshold and go in.

The huge dhwaja sthambam flag post stands proud and tall, right in front of us. The counters are on the right of the gate as soon as you enter, where you can purchase tokens for vazhipadu or offerings. Buy the tokens here, and proceed to the left to pick up your offering. We pass by the Navarathri Mandapam, a hall built to hold cultural programs during festivals, situated a little ahead of the vazhipadu counter. A little ahead, adjacent to the wall of the shrine, you can buy talismans like sacred threads (for the wrist), lockets and amulets, and other raksha.

The Goddess at the Melkaavu sits facing the east, so the devotees face west when they bow to her. So in effect, as we enter through the main gate, we need to circumambulate a half round in order to reach the front of the sanctum sanctorum of the Melkaavamma. Fridays and Tuesdays can get pretty crowded, especially during the evening. We are luckily here on a Thursday morning, so we breeze in without much fuss.

We walk in and spot the Goddess who has a beautiful smile. She is covered in a gold sheath. With the oil lamps burning bright around her (inside the sanctum), Chottanikkara Amma in the form of Rajarajeshwari is a dazzling sight. We are able to spend a few peaceful minutes adoring her. It is said that the idol of the Goddess has not been manually sculpted, but is a swayambhu, (an assumed form) in laterite. The gold sheath defines her form, with four arms. The base of the idol is also supposed to be loose sand, as opposed to a stone foundation. Devi’s brother, Lord Narayana sits with her inside her sanctum, in the form of a small idol.

The Goddess is worshipped in three forms throughout the day. She is worshipped as Saraswathi, (the Goddess of learning) in the morning, as Lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth), in the afternoon, and as Durga (the warrior Goddess) in the evening. In the early mornings, she is worshipped as the Goddess Mookambika. The legend goes thus: Jagadguru Shankaracharya wanted to bring Saraswathi Devi to Kerala. He undertook severe penance to please her. The Goddess relented, and agreed to go with him on the condition that he would lead the way by foot, and the Goddess would follow. Shankaracharya was not to turn around to look at her, or she would not continue. As luck would have it, the Acharya turned around at some point in the journey. The Goddess stopped in her tracks, and remained where she stood, despite the Acharya’s profuse apologies and ardent pleas to continue the journey. Saraswathy Devi then decided to grant him part of his wish. She promised him that she would appear in Chottanikkara in the morning, and bless her devotees. Shankaracharya accepted her verdict.

The place where the Goddess stopped is Mookambika, near Mangalore, where the famous Saraswathy temple is located today. To honour her word to Shankaracharya, the Devi at the Mookambika temple gives darshan to her devotees only after she has blessed her devotees at Chottanikkara. To mark this arrangement, the temple doors at Mookambika are opened only at 5.00 a.m., an hour after the first darshan at Chottanikkara.

We pull ourselves away from the sannidhi, take a pradakshina around, and exit the shrine. Just before the exit sits Lord Dharma Shastha a little to the left of Devi; facing west. He is said to be guarding Devi and her devotees. We pay our obeisance to him, and step out. You can take theertham and kumkumam from a gentleman who sits dispensing the same.

In front of the sannidhi is a long rectangular hall where devotees can sit and pray. A huge balance is suspended from the ceiling, where the devout are weighed for the thulabhaaram offering. The floor of this hall is covered in tiles that have always fascinated me as a child. It is a simple optical illusion that can be viewed in two different ways.

Image courtesy - Rooney Maxwell via Wikimedia Commons

We walk a half-moon around the temple, and turn towards the shrines outside the sanctum. We bow our heads at the Srimoolasthanam, where the Devi first appeared on earth, and proceed. A small tree stands behind the spot, which has been marked off with a small fence. Beyond sits the Goddess Jyestha. There are also shrines for Lord Shiva and Ganesha.

We take a roundabout walk to reach the steps that lead to the Keezhkaavamma, who sits in the shrine below. The Goddess is worshipped as Bhadrakali, in her fierce form. She is fond of blood, and every evening, a ritual called guruthi (sacrifice) is conducted, which simulates an offering of sacrifice of blood to the Goddess. The steps that lead to the keezhkavu are wide to enable elephants to use them. These steps are slightly slanted, and wider spaced to enable pachyderms to walk without much trouble. On the right, almost immediately after the steps begin are the Navagrahas. A few steps lead us to the shrine, which also houses Vigneshwara and Ayyappa. We pay our respects to them, and take the steps again.

Small shops that sell devotional CDs dot the sides. Some of them play songs from the lot, and a combination of different kinds of music assails our ears. Luckily, this noise is drowned out by the occasional ‘boom’ that comes from our right. A small patch of land is used to fire kadana, or vedi (the closest English word for that could be a cracker). A vedi is a small black explosive, that looks or sounds nothing like the innocent red crackers that we burst during festivals. Its diameter is roughly about as wide as an average fist, and is maybe a foot tall. The noise that comes from a single explosion is capable of startling even the most mentally strong person right out of their skin. These little explosions are a part of an offering, called the vedi vazhipaadu.

Caught unawares by the first blast, we are unprepared for the subsequent vedis too. We totter along, and make it to the end of the steps. At the foot of the steps lies the temple pond, walled off, and with separate entrances for men and women. Legend says that Devi killed a yakshi (vampire), who was chasing a Brahmin. After killing the yakshi, Devi washed herself at the pond to purify herself of the blood. Vilwamangalam swamigal found an idol of the Goddess in this pond, many years after this incident, and installed her in the keezhkaavu. The keezhkaavu Amma sits facing west.

We walk around the pond to reach the shrine, a few steps ahead. The vahipaadu counter is to the left as soon as we enter the small gate. Offerings of oil, turmeric and kumkumam are common. Buy the coupons at the cash counter, and pick up the offerings at the counter, which is just next door. We buy oil for the huge lamp, and pour it in, disposing the small containers in a tub next to it. The keezhkaavu Amma is a beauty despite her ferocious nature. This shrine is comparatively smaller in size. We bow our heads and spend a few moments adoring her. The Bhadrakali in this shrine is known for curing people of mental ailments. A tree stands next to the shrine, with several rusting nails tacked on it. These nails, of varying sizes, are said to have been nailed on by those cured of ailments and possession by evil spirits.

We circumambulate the Devi, and spot the prasadam being distributed. We hand over our receipt, and collect the kumkumam on a piece of plantain leaf. There are a few rakshas here as well, so if you want to, you can buy some amulets here. After stepping out of the nada, we retrace our steps back up, following the giant staircase, bracing ourselves for the vedi. We make our way out, collect our footwear, and trudge to the bus stop. That was my trip to the famous Chottanikkara temple. I’ll be back next week with a new sojourn. Till then, stay devout, and take care!