Malayalappuzha - In the land of the Goddess of exorcism

Malayalappuzha devi temple is situated in Pathanamthitta district, seven and a half kilometres from Pathanamthitta town, aloofly from all the disquietudes and flusters of daily life. The principal deity here is worshipped as Durga. The temple is a part of everyone's life in the surrounding area. Fishermen from the coastal belt take their fishing boats out to sea only after visiting the temple. They receive at the temple a small torn piece of the devi's outfit(Red veeralipattu) and tie it to the boat. It is said that thieves won't dare to touch anything that has been vowed to be offered to the temple. The farmers protect their cultivations from theft by taking a vow to offer the first harvest to the Goddess. They also receive pieces of the red outfit and have to tie it to a plant in their farm.

The Goddess is noted for fulfilling the desire of women to get married, shielding the devotee from enemies, helping trade to flourish, lending a helping hand for the unemployed and in general extending sumptuousness to all the devotees. The agglomeration of Christians and Muslims in large numbers is a standing testimony to the Malayalapuzha Amma's unlimited blessings irrespective of caste and creed. The temple is considered as the third richest temple under Travancore Devaswom Board after Sabarimala and Chettikulangara.

There is a small Namaskara Mandapa, Chuttambalam as well as Balikkalpura inside the temple. The main Sanctum is rectangular in shape, which has a mughamandapam and a Garbha griha. Malayalappuzha devi's idol is consecrated at the centre of the Garbha griha. The central image of the Goddess is made neither of stone nor of Panchaloha(an alloy of five metals). The 5.5 feet tall idol is made of a mixture of molasses, clay and herbs(Kadusarkkara yogam). No kind of ablutions are offered to this idol. For this purpose there is another pooja idol placed near by the main idol. Ablutions are done with white ash, sandal, oil, milk, ghee and tender coconut water. One could see ancient inscriptions as well as some fabulous carvings on the outer wall of the Sanctum Sanctorum. The temple is believed to be more than 3,000 years old. There is a Shivalinga on the south-eastern corner of the temple, which according to the devotees, is a swayambhoo(surfaced on its own) and is a growing one. It is also said that on certain days, Shiva Linga will make musical tones. There is a Kanikonna tree standing near this shiva linga which blooms on all seasons that showers its petals upon Shiva Linga. The temple is considered as one of the 108 durga temples constructed by Parasurama. A large number of devotees worship at this temple weekly, with Tuesday and Friday the most popular days for worshipping Goddess Bhadrakali. Many temples in Kerala do not allow people other than Hindus to get in, but here one finds even Muslim ladies, clad in their traditional dress, queued up for the morning worship. The sub-deities of the temple are Rakshassu, Naga Raja, Yakshi etc.

According to legends, two Brahmins did penance at Kollur Mookambika Temple for a long time. They also had a devi idol along with them. When the period of worship was over, due to Mookambika's blessings, part of her energy got transferred into the devi idol of the Brahmins. Then as per the Devi's directions, they reached Malayalappuzha and with the help of persons who belongs to prominent families of Malayalappuzha(namely Thombil, Azhakathu and Stuthiyil families), Brahmins consecrated their idol in the middle of four Mountain deities, namely Appakannamala, Uppidumparamala, Cherukunnathumala and Pulipparamala deities.

For driving away the evil spirits, red flowers like 'Thechi' are used for the pooja named 'Raktha Pushpanjali'. Offering of a Golden pendant(Thali), in the shape of a banyan leaf, which the groom ties around the neck of the bride during the wedding, is mostly done by women for successful married life as well as getting married at the right time. The tantric rights of the temple are vested with Brahmins of Budhannoor Adimuttathu Matt.

The temple festival is celebrated in the month of Kumbham, which starts on the Thiruvathira day with flag-hoisting and commences on the eleventh day with Aarattu.