Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathy Temple, ''Bhadrakali Shrine'' located near

Valapattanam Valapattanam is a census town in the Kannur district, located in the Indian state of Kerala. It is also the smallest panchayat in Kerala. Its area is 2.04 sqr Km. It is about 7 km north of Kannur. Valapattanam is known for its communal harm ...

river, is the family shrine of ''Chirakkal Royal Family''. The deity of the shrine is the fierce form of ''

Bhadrakali Bhadrakali (IAST: Bhadrakālī; ), also known as Mahakali and Kali, is a Hindu goddess. According to Shaktism, she is one of the fierce forms of the Supreme Goddess Shakti, or Adi Parashakti, mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Vaishnavism, ...

''. ''Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathy'' is considered as the mother of the ancient martial art ''Kalarippayattu'' and hence the name. The shrine is administered by ''

Malabar Devaswom Board Malabar Devaswom Board is a Statutory and Independent body created for the governing and management of 1300 temples in Kerala assigned to it. With the passing of Madras Regulation Act in the year 1817, temples were brought under the control of Ea ...

'' and classified as ''Category A'' Temple of the board. Kalarivathukkal has come from the word Kalari Vaatilkal.

Legend

The ''holy shrine'' is one of the ''Devi temple'' triads of the erstwhile Chirakkal Kingdom. The other two being ''Cherukunnu Annapoornashwari Temple'' and ''Tiruvarkadu Bhagavathy Temple''(''

Madayi kavu Thiruvarkadu Bhagavathi Temple (a.k.a. Madayi Kavu) is the mother temple of all Bhadrakali shrines of North Kerala. The deity is the ''Fierce form of Bhadrakali''. The Bhagavathy is addressed by tantrics in the vicinity as ''Tiruvarkkad Achch ...

''). The mythology says that Annapoornashwari came from Kasi to Chirakkal in a boat along with ''Kalarivatukkalamma and Madayikkavilamma'' who were her mates; to see the Krishna Temple and never returned. The Chirakkal Kings were the successors of Kolathiris' who in-turn was the direct descendants of the ''Mooshika kings''. ''Mooshika'' of North and ''Ay'' of South were the oldest dynasties of Kerala. The ''Ay dynasty'' eventually became extinct but the ''Mooshika'' was able to sustain. The later name of ''Mooshika Raja'' was changed to''Kolathirippad''. The Kolathiris' relocated their capital from ''Ezhimala'' to ''Chirakkal'' near Valapattanam river. The temple was once owned by Vadakke illam and was acquired by Chirakkal Kovilakom.

Temple Architecture

The temple is in traditional Kerala architecture style. The temple design is ''Rurujith Vidhanam''(Kaula Shakteya Sampradaya) where in there are shrines of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

, Sapta Mathrukkal, Ganapathy, Veerabhadra and Kshetrapalakan(Bhairava) in 4 sanctums. The main deity is facing west. The shrine of Shiva is facing East, Shrine of ''Sapta Mathrukkal'' (''Maathrushaala'') facing North and the Shrine of Kshetrapalaka (

Bhairava Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव ) or Kala Bhairava is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva associated with annihilation. In Trika system ''Bhairava ...

) facing East. The ''Maathrushaala'' has idols of SapthaMathrukkal (Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Shankari, Kaumari, Varahi, Chamundi, Indrani),

Veerabhadra Virabhadra (), also rendered Veerabhadra, Veerabathira, and Veerabathiran, is a fierce form of the Hindu god Shiva. He is created by the wrath of Shiva, when the deity hurls a lock of his matted hair upon the ground, upon hearing of the self- ...

and

Ganapathi Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu de ...

. Every morning after the rites the ''Sacred Sword'' is taken to the ''Mandapam'' adjacent to the ''Maathrushaala'' and taken back in the evening after the rites. The main idol is made of ''KaduSarkaraYogam'' so for performing rites and rituals a ''Archana bimbam'' of Devi is used for rites and ablutions. The temple is opened throughout the year, in morning there will be ''Usha Pooja'', at noon ''Pantheeradi Pooja'' and in evening ''Shakti Pooja''

Theyyam

Theyyam Theyyam (/ t̪eːjjəm/; romanised: ''teyyam'') are Hindu ritualistic dance forms practiced in northern Kerala and some parts of Karnataka. Theyyam is also known as Kaḷiyāṭṭaṁ or Tiṟa. Theyyam consists of traditions, rituals and c ...

is a religious ritualistic art-form conducted in Temples and Kavu in

North Malabar North Malabar refers to the geographic area of southwest India covering the state of Kerala's present day Kasaragod, Kannur, and Wayanad District, Wayanad districts, and the taluks of Vatakara, Koyilandy, and Thamarassery in the Kozhikode Distri ...

. The shrine being the family deity of Kolathiri conducts the last Theyyam commencing the Theyyam period of a year. The huge ''Thirumudi'' of ''Kalarivathukkal Amma's'' theyyam is the one of the attractions of the festival.

Festivals

There are two major festivals are there in the shrine. ''Pooram'' festival in March–April for 9 days; starts in ''Karthika'' nakshatra and ends in ''Uthram'' nakshatra of the Malayalam Calendar month of Meenam. On the 7th day the idol is taken to Shri Siveshwaram Temple on 8th to Kadalai Shri Krishna Temple and on 9th it is taken back along with fireworks. The festival commences by the ''Kalarippayattu'' performance. Musical and traditional art performances such as Thayambaka, Poorakkali are performed. In June another festival ''Kalasham'' concludes the ''Theyyam'' period of a year. The other festivals are Navaratri, Shivarathri, Vishuvilakku, Perum kaliyattam in 10th Idavam and Niraputhari in karkkidakam. File:Adjusting the ornaments of Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathi.jpg, Kalarivaatukkal Amma File:Theyyam blessing the devotees.jpg, The Theyyam of Kalarivaatukkal Bhagavathy blessing devotees File:ParassinikkadavuValapattamRiver.jpg, Valapattnam river flowing near the Temple File:Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathi.jpg File:Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathi and her children.jpg File:Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathi's five children.JPG File:Devotees carrying the Mudi of Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathi.jpg File:People holding Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathi's hair 2.JPG File:Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathi Make Up.jpg File:Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathi's hair after being removed.JPG

References

External links