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Navratri Utsav: Urakam Ammathiruvadi Temple in Kerala

By Siji Ram

Urakam Ammathiruvadi temple is one of the 108 major Durga temples in India. Located in Urakam village of Thrissur district of Kerala, this temple is among some of the ancient temples in India too.

Legend of Urakam Ammathiruvadi Temple

The temple has an interesting legend behind it. Poomulli Namboothiri, an ardent devotee of the goddess, visited Kamakshi Amman Temple in Kanchipuram. It is said that the goddess decides to go home with the Namboothiri on being pleased with his devotion. The goddess goes with him on his palm leaf umbrella.

ammathiruvadi

Photo Courtesy: Aruna

The Namboothiri reaches home and keeps his umbrella on the floor. Later, he tries lifting the umbrella but fails because of the heaviness it carried. It was also confirmed that Goddess Kamakshi was residing in the umbrella. The goddess then appears in the Namboothiri's dream and instructs him to build a temple for her in the same location where the umbrella was being placed, and the idol should be brought from a well situated some distance away from the place. He was also asked to leave the place once the temple was built.

The temple was built according to the goddess' instructions, and the Namboothiri had to leave the place giving the temple to the Kochi rulers for administration. Since then, the goddess is called as Ammathiruvadi. The temple is believed to be built around 100 years ago.

ammathiruvadi

Photo Courtesy: Official Website

Festivals of Urakam Ammathiruvadi Temple

There are five major festivals that are celebrated in the temple annually. They are Navratri, Thrikkarthika, Pooram, Vanarat and Illam Nira. During the nine days of Navratri, the temple gets decorated with lights, lamps and flowers, and the hymns in the praising of the goddess would be played in the temple premises.

The Thrikkarthika festival is celebrated as the birthday of Ammathiruvadi, and the goddess is dressed in silk and is adorned with temple jewels. On this day, the temple elephants are also decorated and taken for a procession. A grand feast is given to the visitors of the temple on Thrikkarthika, as it is believed that no devotee should leave the temple with empty stomach.

Pooram is a 13-day festival with elephants, music and cultural events. The culture and heritage of the place can be witnessed on a visit to this temple during its festive season.

ammathiruvadi

Photo Courtesy: Official Website

Reaching Urakam Ammathiruvadi Temple

The temple is located around 12km from the town Thrissur . Once you reach Thrissur, you can take a taxi or auto rickshaw to the temple, which is on Kodungallur-Shornur road.

Do visit this ancient Durga temple in Kerala during this Navratri season!

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