Mangottu Bhagavathi Temple

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Overview

This temple is situated in a place called Athipotta, which is 24 km from Palakkad via Alathur. The goddess in this temple is supposed to be in her very fierce form.

About the Temple

The temple is built in Kerala style of architecture. There is a separate shrine for Lord Ganesha inside the temple and there is a temple for Mookan Chathan, a spirit on the Northern Side, outside the Temple compound. The temple has a Kalyana Mandapam.

Legend and Stories

Mangottu Bhagawathi is supposed to have come to this place to fulfill the desire of a weaver. This weaver, Kuttan, was a great devotee of the Goddess. He and his people wove clothes and sold them in places where festivals were held. It is said that at one place, he was so enchanted by the appearance of the Devi there that he mentally requested her to come along with him. At that time, there was a whirl wind which removed the clothes of the idol of the Goddess which was being taken out in procession. Kuttan immediately threw the cloth that he had brought to sell on to the goddess. This cloth fell on the Goddess and got attached there. Next day Kuttan returned to his village. He was carrying an Umbrella. At a particular point he got so tired that he kept the Umbrella on floor and slept nearby. When he woke up, he was not able to remove the umbrella from the ground. An astrologer was summoned who told Kuttan that the Goddess has occupied the Umbrella and she wants to live in this place. Then the astrologer threw the stick in his hand and told that a temple should be built where it falls. This place is the present Athipotha.

Festivals

In the month of Medam (April–May) a festival is conducted here lasting seven days, after the first Sunday of that month. Apart from that after the Pooram festival of Parakkattu Bhagawathi temple, that Bhagawathi shuts her temple and comes and stays in Athipotha for seven days during the month of Meenam (March–April). Every year the annual festival (vela) is conducted, on the second Sunday after Vishu (in April), which is the starting of the Malayalam New Year. The Mangottu Kavu vela is preceded by a host of festivities starting exactly a week before the actual festival.

Accessibility

The nearest International Airport is Coimbatore International Airport, roughly one hour drive from Palakkad. Palakkad has its own two Railway Stations named as Palakkad Junction and Palakkad Town Railway Station which is connected to the major cities of Kerala. One can easily get regular buses to Palakkad from other major cities of the country.

Temple Address