An evening at the Venice of the East. Even the sun doesn't forget to bow down his head in reverence before the almighty at Mullackal as he hides beneath the tall trees in a jiffy leaving behind a tinted ambience of orange at the horizon. Mullackal temple stands majestic, circulating the characteristic aroma of heavenly Jasmine on each day, amidst of all the suffocation the city has been producing over the years. In prominency, this pantheon, situated at the heart of the township of Alleppey, is on a par with any other shrine we have ever heard of.
According to the historians, the temple is constructed at the time of Rajas of Ambalappuzha. Numerous myths lay entwined with the origin of the temple and in an oft-told one Eravi Ittuni(aka Aasan) dons as the protagonist who by chance got an idol of devi from Aattinkara(The bank of river) Palace premises. Local landlord allowed him to worship the idol in the shades of his Jasmine(Mulla). Many years winged by. Due to certain conflicts arised between him and the landlord, Ittuni had to flee and he sought refuge under Chembakassery Raja.
Chembakassery Raja allowed Ittuni to enshrine Devi wherever he wants to and with pleasure Kittunni planted a Jasmine and consecrated devi by the side of it. Devi here is venerated as Vanadurga(Durga of forests), because of this there is no roof for the sanctum sanctorum as we seen in Chakkulathukavu and Kadambuzha.
The idol made of Krishnasila is having four hands(chathurbahu) with conch and discus in two and the other two hands together portrays Abhaya mudra. A golden flagstaff adds attraction to this temple. Ganapathi (seated eastwards) also finds a place near devi and the temple is considered as an important shrine for Ganesha worship.
The most favourite of dishes offered to devi is the "Mullackal Vadai". Along with that Kalabham, Abhishekam with milk/kunkum/flowers, Panjamrutham, Aravana Payasam are the other major offerings to gladden devi. The sub-deities of this temple are Sree Krishna, Hanuman, Sasthavu, Subrahmanya, Navagraha etc. The main festival(10 days) falls at the time of Navarathri and the festivities end on the Vijaya Dasami day.
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