Thozhuvancode Sri Chamundeswari Temple is a highly revered Hindu temple situated at Thozhuvancode in the outskirts of the Trivandrum city near Vattiyoorkavu which is around 3 km from Sasthamangalam and 9 km from East Fort. We rarely do see a Chamundi shrine in Keala with all its glory as the one in Thozhuvancode Chamundeswari temple. Karikakom temple is also having a Chamundi shrine and as far as I know these two are the most famous Chamundi temples of Thiruvananthapuram district.
The temple is 500 years old and is often cited as one among the few temples in Kerala which are open to believers belonging to all castes and all religions. The principal deity is Goddess Chamundeswari herself. Chamundeswari or Chamundi is a fierce form of Goddess Durga, believed to have originated in the manifestation she took on in the event of slaying two deadly demons called Chanda and Munda. Goddess Kali is also separately worshipped in this temple.
Although located near a buzzing town, the ambience of the temple and premises are always calm and on the three days that it opens, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, the temple can be observed to be silent, except for the gathering of devotees, murmur of their prayers and chirping of the birds. On certain evenings, one can pray to the bewitchingly decorated figure of Chamundeswari, against the backdrop of a melodious percussion of temple instruments. The temple is open in the mornings till 12.30 noon and in the evenings till 7.45 pm.
The temple also has separate shrines for Goddess Durga, Mohini Yakshi, Karinkali Devi, Ganapathi, Navagrahas, Anantha, and Thamburan. It is also believed that the presence of Brahma-Vishnu-Maheswara, the holy trinity, is there in the temple. Sri Chakra worship is also done in the temple.
Most of the temple priests collect donations while giving the Prasadam (holy items) to devotees. From the past 41 years, there is no kind of such collection at this temple. So there is no special priority to anyone. Also during the festivals no type of donation collection from the temple committee. This is the main speciality of the Thozhuvancode Sree Chamundi Devi Temple. The temple has a large number of statues, figures and sculptures depicting various forms of Devi and most of them displays the fierce disposition which could instill fear as well as devotion in the hearts of visiting devotees.
The temple is owned and operated by the descendants of the person who practiced and trained martial arts (Kalari Aasan) for the famous Ettuveettil Pillais of Travancore who were killed by His Highness Marthanda Varma, the erstwhile Raja of Travancore for their contemptuous and wicked motives against the throne. It is believed that the Thozhuvancode devi is the war-deity (Kalari Paradevatha) of the Kulathoor (a place in Trivandrum where College of Engineering, Trivandrum is located) Panicker (an ancient Ezhava home at Kulathoor), who were the trainers of Ettuveettil Pillais.
Thozhuvancode Pongala festival usually falls in the month of January every year and thousands of women throng the temple for offering Pongala to the deity.
