Pattazhy, also Pattazhiis a village located in

Pathanapuram Pathanapuram is a Town in Pathanapuram Taluk Kollam district, Kerala, India. Pathanapuram is a part of Grama Panchayat and Block panchayat of same name and part of Kollam District Panchayat. History The history of Pathanapuram goes back to ...

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

in the eastern part of the

Kollam District Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 List of districts in Kerala, districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Lac ...

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 ...

state, India. It is best known as the site of an ancient

Bhagavathy Bhagavatī (Devanagari: भगवती, IAST: Bhagavatī), is a Hindu epithet of Sanskrit origin, used as an honorific title for female deities in Hinduism. It is primarily used to address one of the Tridevi: Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati. ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, Pattazhy Devi Temple. Pattazy is a part of Pathanapuram Block Panchayat andruled by pattazhy panjayath Kollam district Panchayat.

Etymology

The name Pattazhy has an uncertain

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

. Pattazhy may stem from an imperfect

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsOcean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

"). Thus the word Pattazhy represents the compassion and affection of Pattazhy Devi to her beloved devotees and depth of her grace. The name Pattazhy may have also derived from the word ''Bhattarika'' which means a

virtuous Virtue ( la, virtus) is morality, moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is Value (ethics), valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that sh ...

and pious woman.

Culture

Pattazhy is a

village situated in

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

of Kollam

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

. The land of Pattazhy comprising two

panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical men ...

areas (Pattazhy and Pattazhy vadakekara) was given as a gift to Pattazhy Devi by the King of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

for the help and shelter given in the fierce fight against the king of

Kayamkulam Kayamkulam is a town and municipality in the ''Onattukara'' region of Alappuzha district in Kerala. It is the second biggest town in Alappuzha district. It is located on the western coast of India, and was an ancient maritime trading center. O ...

. When the king was extending his kingdom by winning war with the neighboring kingdoms with the help of

Ramayyan Dalawa Ramayyan (died January 1756) was the Dewan of Travancore state, India, during 1737 and 1756 and was responsible for the consolidation and expansion of that kingdom after the defeat of the Dutch at the 1741 Battle of Colachel during the reign of ...

, Kambithan, a hardcore worshipper of Pattazhy Devi helped the king to take over

Kingdom. As a symbol of his gratitude the king ordered to let Pattazhy be named and dedicated to Devi by issuing a royal order. The annual

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

at Pattazhy Devi Temple is one of the famous temple festivals in central

. The Kumbhathiruvathira and Meenathiruvathira were the famous festivals of Pattazhy. The

is known for Kambam (

fire works Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in ...

), Aalpindi Vilakku Ezhunnallathu (Procession of small structure made out of

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

kernel and germinating leaves of coconut tree with numerous lamps on it), Ponnin Thirumudi ( Devi's idol carved out of pure

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

and rare precious stones) Ezhunnallathu. Pattazhy also got a place in the

Guinness Book ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

of world records for the 'Longest bamboo'.

Nearby towns

*1.

Kottarakkara Kottarakkara (IAST: Koṭṭārakkara), also transliterated as ''Kottarakara'', is a town and municipality in the Kollam district of the Kerala, India. The town is close to Kollam Port, which has a rich history linked to the early medieval pe ...

- 10 kilometres (via Thamarakudy, Mylom) *2.

- 9 kilometres (Via Panthaplavu) *3.

Adoor Adoor (sometimes spelled ''Adur'') is a Municipality in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala State, India. It is the headquarters of Adoor Taluk and Adoor Revenue Division. Etymology Adoor (Ad-oor) in Malayalam translates as "Ad" means "separ ...

- 15 kilometres (Via Chelikkuzhy, Kaithaparambu, Ezhamkulam) *4. Enathu - 7 kilometres (Via Arattupuzha bridge) *5. Kunnicode - 10 kilometres (Via Pandithitta, Thalavoor)

Transportation

*Bus Transportation: Nearest town

is well connected to all parts of kerala. There are regular KSRTC bus services from

to Pattazhi every 15 minutes. The town is also well connected by KSRTC services to

. Private buses connect Pattazhi to Puthoor,

Chavara Chavara is a village in Karunagappally taluk, Kollam district, Kerala, India. It is a part of Kollam Lok Sabha constituency. The current MLA of the Chavara constituency is Dr. Sujith Vijayan Pillai of the LDF. Location and tourism Chavara ...

etc. *Railway stations: Nearest main broadgauge stations are available at Kollam (38 kilometres) and Chengannur (41 kilometres). However the nearest railway station is at Kuri H.S/Thalavoor (7 kilometres) connecting to Kollam *Airports: Nearest

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

is at

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

(90 kilometres).

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

International Airport is 175 kilometres away.

References

* * *

External links