Mangaladevi Kannagi Temple is an ancient historic temple located in the Idukki District 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 ...

bordering Tamil Nadu, about 15 km from

Thekkady Thekkady( Idukki district) is a town near Periyar National Park, an important tourist attraction in the Kerala state of India. The name Thekkady is derived from the word "thekku" which means teak. Temperatures are lowest in the months of Dec ...

in Idukki district and 7 km from Pazhiyankudi in

Theni Theni is a valley town situated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu at the foothills of Western Ghats. It is the headquarters of the Theni district, located in a distance of 70km from Madurai. It is known for the large-scale trading of garlic, c ...

district. The temple is built by Chera dynasty at its peak stage, paying honour to

Kannagi Kannagi ( ta, கண்ணகி) sometimes spelled Kannaki, is a legendary Tamil woman who forms the central character of the Tamil epic '' Cilappatikaram''. Kannagi is described as the chaste woman who stays with her husband despite his unfa ...

, who reached historic land of Cheranadu from Madhurai. The temple is located in dense forest of

Periyar tiger reserve Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (PNP) is a protected area located in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala, India. It is notable as an elephant reserve and a tiger reserve. The protected area encompasses , of whi ...

in Kerala. Visitors are allowed in the temple premises only on Chitrapournami festival, once in a year. People could reach the destination only through the pass in the forest which is rich in green and visual beauty of the forest. The temple is a blending of various religious sects like Sakthism, Saivism and Sramana religions with basic Dravidian religion. We could see statues and sculptures of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

, Tara devi, Bodhisatvas and Mahavira and other Theerthankaras. Cheran Chenguttuvan, the king of ancient Chera nadu, had erected the temple for

around 2000 years back at Vannathipara and called it 'Kannagi Kottam' or 'Mangaladevi Kannagi temple' and performed regular pujas.Thousands of devotees throng Kannagi temple The Hindu
/ref> The temple was under the administration of Poonjar royal family and then Tranvancore royal family, till it was taken over by government after independence. Mangaladevi, Thekkady Forest

History and Legend

There is no credible evidences as that this temple is in a state of ruin in the middle of a thick forest with no human habitation. S.N. Sadasivan has written a historical book about

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

. According to Sadasivan, the temple was destroyed during an attack by the Chola-Marava knights, from Tamil Nadu. In its heyday, the temple is believed to have been associated with a similar Buddhist monastery at Chitral in Kabul. The temple of the same name belongs to Tara, a Buddhist bhikkhu is established in Mangalore. It was established in the 5th century AD. And in Idukki it is in the 6th century. According to Sadashiva, after leading the fall of the Pandya kingdom, Kannaki crossed Western ghats and took refuge in the Buddhist monastery attached to the Mangaladevi temple and lived as a nun. He argues that when read together with the available evidence, this is strong evidence. There is no credible evidences as that this temple is in a state of ruin in the middle of a thick forest with no human habitation. S.N. Sadasivan has written a historical book about

. According to Sadasivan, the temple was destroyed during an attack by the Chola-Marava knights, from Tamil Nadu. In its heyday, the temple is believed to have been associated with a similar Buddhist monastery at Chitral in Kabul. The temple of the same name belongs to Tara, a Buddhist bhikkhu is established in Mangalore. It was established in the 5th century AD. And in Idukki it is in the 6th century. According to Sadashiva, after leading the fall of the Pandya kingdom, Kannaki crossed Western ghats and took refuge in the Buddhist monastery attached to the Mangaladevi temple and lived as a nun. He argues that when read together with the available evidence, this is strong evidence. It is believed that in the 9th century, under the command of the Cholas to attack and destroyed land of Chera dynasty and Ay dynasty,

Sambandar Sambandar (Tamil: சம்பந்தர்), also referred to as Tirugnana Sambandar (lit. ''Holy Sage Sambandar''), Tirujnanasambanda, Campantar or Jñāṉacampantar, was a Shaiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th cen ...

, a

Shaivite Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

monk from Tamil Nadu, and his marava army captured this temple, killed the monks and then set out to capture the temple at Sabarimala. The Marava attack to ancient Kerala longed about a century, ruined various inscriptions and evidences that were credible for the history of land, culture, language and customs.

References

External links

Thousands of devotees throng Kannagi temple The Hindu
Devi temples in Kerala Hindu temples in Idukki district {{Idukki-geo-stub