Koduvayur is a fast developing town and a major commercial area in Koduvayur gram panchayat of Kollengode Block Panchayat in

Palakkad district Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...

in the state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. As of the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Koduvayur had a population of 20,703. It is located about 20 km from the district headquarters

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

through State Highway 27

History

Along with the rest of the modern Palakkad district, Koduyavur lies in what was the

Malabar District Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Koduvayur was one of the 18 ''asmams'' that comprised the ''Cheranad'' division of the colonial era '' Ernad Taluk'', directly ruled by the

Zamorin of Calicut The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited by ...

. Its inclusion in this district was documented in William Logan's ''Malabar Manual'' published in 1887.

Geography

Koduvayur is located roughly 10 km south of Palakkad along SH 27. It bordered to the west and northwest by Thenkurissi, to the east by

Puthunagaram Puthunagaram is a town and gram panchayat in the Palakkad district, state of Kerala, India. It is about 10 km south of Palakkad and 8 Km from Kollengode. Palakkad-Pollachi-Dindukal-Madurai-Rameswaram train line passes through this town. ...

, to the northeast by Peruvemba, and to the south by Pallassanna. The Malampuzha main canal flows in the south direction through Koduvayur from the

Malampuzha Dam Malampuzha Dam is the second largest dam and reservoirs in Kerala, located near Palakkad, in the state of Kerala in South India, built post independence by the then Madras state. Situated in the scenic hills of the Western Ghats in the backgroun ...

Attractions

Koduvayur is home to a temple dedicated to the hindu deity,

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 ...

. The temple is thought to have a 650 year old history and played an important role in the initial settlement of Koduvaur. It is well-known for its ''Rathousalvam'' or chariot festival, which attracts patrons from across Pallakad, as well as the state Kerala. After 18 days of preparation for the festival, three idols or ''utsava moorthis'', process around the temple as well as 9 times around a holy bunyan tree. The procession is accopmonied by celebrations, as well as fireworks as well as the ''Annadanam'' or sacred meal for devotees. In the center of Koduvayur on Koduvayur Thrippalur Rd. is an outdoor market featuring produce and textiles.

References

Gram panchayats in Palakkad district {{Palakkad-geo-stub