Kanadikavu Shree Vishnumaya Kuttichathan Swamy temple

The Kanadikavu Shree Vishnmaya Kuttichathan Swamy temple is the most ancient and holy Vishnumaya temple located 20 km southwest of Thrissur, Peringottukara, the cultural capital of Kerala, India.[1][2][3][4]

Kanadikavu Shree Vishnumaya Kuttichathan Swamy temple
Religion
AffiliationHinduism
DistrictThrissur
DeityVishnuMaya
Location
LocationPeringottukara
StateKerala
CountryIndia
Geographic coordinates10°25′20″N 76°7′55″E
Architecture
TypeFusion of Kerala Architecture and Tamil Architecture
Website
Official website
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The principal deity of the temple is shree Vishnumaya and 390 Kuttichathans.[5] Brahmasree Vishnubharatheeya Swami, the sage-like Spiritual Guru and the Madathipathi is the chief priest of KanadiKavu.[6][7]

Main deities

The main deity of the temple is Shree Vishnumaya Kuttichathan. The sub deities here are Bhadrakali, Bhuvanaeswari, Kukshikalpam and 390 Kuttichathans, Nagaraja, Nagayakshi and Brahmarakshas as a couple.

History

Koonamuthappan, who was a sage, realized that for the well being of whole humanity they needed the presence and blessings of a powerful and easy-to-please deity. So he undertook a severe penance to please the deity of his family. The Goddess soon appeared before him. Koonamuthappan requested the Goddess to give him the Mantram that would enable him to please and possess Chathan Swamy, the son of Shree Parameswara. Pleased at her devotee's penance the Goddess told him the Moola Mantram to make Chathan appear before him and the Dhyana Mantram to worship him every day. He then went to the Himalayas and following the advice of the Nga Sages, entered into a severe penance. Vishnumaya Kuttichathan Swami soon appeared before him, and he returned to Peringottukara with the deity. After reaching Peringottukara, he consecrated and installed Vishnumaya Chathan Swamy at the place where now Kanadi Family exists.[7][3]

Roopakkalam

Roopakkalam is the concept of Vishnulokam. The ritual of Roopakalam is usually carried out in connection with the annual festival of Thiruvellattu, in the Malayalam month of Makaram, in the Vishnumaya temples of Kerala. This is something akin to the Kalamezhuthu in the temples dedicated to Serpent Gods in Kerala.The beautiful and fascinating Roopakalam is basically a form of ritual or offering to lord Vishnumaya, wherein enchanting and colorful figures of the lord and sometimes, of his trusted friend and ally Karimkutty, is drawn on the ground using multi coloured herbal and organic powders. After the Roopakalam is drawn, a family member who is a priest performs puja as per the tantric rites and invokes the lord into the Roopakalam. This is followed by a sacred ritual dance by the priest around the kalam, to the accompaniment of wild music. The dancer then erases the kalam using coconut palm leaves. The colored powders are subsequently distributed to the devotees after the ritual.

Main offerings to the deity

The main offerings made by the devotees include Roopakalam, Chuttuvilakku, Niramala, Brahmavellattu Karmam, Veethu, Guruthi, Divasapooja and Pushpanjali.[8]

Festivals

Kerala, specially Thrissur is a land of festivals, where people from different religions coexist harmoniously and celebrate festivals wholeheartedly throughout the year. As the same, Kanadikavu is called for the festivals[4] it celebrates.

Thiravellattu Mahotsavam

The day of the oracle of Vishnumaya in the Malayalam month of Makaram, is with Thiravellattu Mahotsavam.[5] In the month of Midhunam three days starting with the star Uthram are meant as the festival in connection with the Consecration Day.

Thottampattu festival

Thottampattu Festival is to please Bhuvaneswary who is in the form of mother to Lord Vishnu Maya. Bhuvaneswary is the family deity of Kanady family who was chiefly instrumental for the arrival of Vishnumaya to Peringotukara village. On the day of Thottampattu, Devi is brought out from the Sreekovil where idol of Devi is created as Kalam. Then hymns are chanted about the glory of the Devi. Hundreds of devotees find it an apt occasion to visit the temple.

References
  1. "About Kanadikavu Vishnumaya". Amritha Television Channel.
  2. Pilgrimage to Temple Heritage 2017. Infokerala Communications Pvt. Ltd. September 2017. p. 274. ISBN 9788193456705.
  3. "Kanadi Kavu Sree Vishnumaya Kuttichathan Swami Temple, Kerala (9961271444)". vymaps.com.
  4. "Kanadikavu temple annual fest begins". New Indian Express. 9 February 2010.
  5. "Thiravellattu Mahotsavam" (PDF). Kerala Tourism Department.
  6. "Vishnumaya". thekerala temples. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  7. Iyer, L. K. Ananthakrishna (1925). Lectures on Ethnography. Calcutta: University of Calcutta. pp. 197–198. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. "Kanadikavu Vishnumaya Kuttichathan Temple Online pooja booking". TemplesinIndiaInfo. 7 July 2020.
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