The Iconic Temple

The Manapullikavu temple is situated in Palakkad district

Palakkad district

Palakkad District is one of the 14 districts of the Indian state of Kerala. The city of Palakkad is the district headquarters. Palakkad is bordered on the northwest by the Malappuram District, on the southwest by the Thrissur District and on the east by Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The...

 amidst lush paddy fields. This is an ancient temple for Manapulli Bhaghavathy, a representation of Goddess Bhadrakali

Bhadrakali

Bhadrakāli , is one of the forms of the Great Goddess mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Sanskrit, the word Bhadra means "blessed", "auspicious", "fair", "beautiful", "good", "fortunate", "prosperous"....

. The Vela festival of the temple is well known in central Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

.

History

Manapullikavu, the place where the temple is located, is also named after this temple itself. Centuries before, manapullikavu was known as "YAGA KARA"(Land of sacred rituals), since many Agnihotra yagas were performed on these banks.It eventually turned into "Yakkara". In due course of time, Yakkara was divided into East Yakkara & West Yakkara and West Yakkara became Manapullikkavu. This place is on the banks of the river Bharathapuzha, the largest river in the state of kerala. In Manapullikkavu, there still exits some 200-year old villages(now turned into housing colonies), which have managed to cope with the kingships of the past, the colonial rule & even the current democratic rules. Most of these colonies are known by the names of the communities living there(e.g.: Nayar Thara - Nayar community, Asharithara - Carpenter community etc.).

Attractions

It is just 2 km from the historic Palakkad Fort built by Tipu Sulthan. Manapullikavu is located some 2.5 km from Palakkad town or you can also get there through NH-47. Some other attractions here include the Baharathapuzha river, "The Kota Maidan", Kalpathy Brahmin Agraharam, the Anjaneya temple, Malampuzha Dam, Kanjikode deer-park, historic Nalukettu houses etc. It is also a well-developed town with all basic facilities and is also a part of Palakkad Municipality.

Festivals

Some of the major festivals here are Vishu, Onam, Diwali & the great Manapulli Vela

Manappullikavu Vela

Manapullikavu is a Hindu temple dedicated to Mother Goddess, situated in Palakkad town in Kerala, south India. The temple serves as a spiritual centre in the town...

. This place is also well-known for its temple processions, which would be normally conducted with nearly seventeen tuskers in minimum. The Manapulli Vela is glorified also by the firework displays, panchavadya-performances, Kathakali,Ootam Thullal, Katha Prasangam & various other cultural arts.

Kerala, the God's Own Country

Pictures

{
author = "PIONEER-9037798328",
title = "Manapullikavu --- Wikipedia{,} The Free Encyclopedia",
year = "2009",
url = "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manapullikavu&oldid=286633460",
note = "[Online; accessed 28-April-2009]"
}

For More Details

• Temples of Manapullikavu :- http://www.palakkadtemples.blog.co.in/manapullikkavu
• Maps of manapullikavu :- http://wikimapia.org/sys/exp_kml/?id=1470189&l=0&v=21012900