The main deity of the Mullakkal Temple in Kerala, which is in the Alleppey district, is the goddess Rajarajeswari. The temple is in the middle of the Alleppey district. It is a beautiful temple that is built in the traditional way in Kerala. This shrine’s main draw is its main roof, which is always open because it was made for Vana Devi. Lord Krishna, Nagas, Ayyappa, and Hanuman Ji are some of the other gods who live in this temple. The place where the Shivling is kept has a banyan tree.
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History of the Temple
The Mullakkal Temple is 500 years old, and there are many legends about how it got started. According to a legend, the soldiers of the Thekkumkur King brought the idols to this temple. All of the idols were meant to be put in a jasmine garden, but Devanarayana, the king of Chembagasery, built a temple in the garden instead. Another story says that when Tipu Sultan attacked Kerala, a group of Namboodiri Brahmins ran away from the Malabar kingdom and took the lucky statue of Maa Annapurneswari with them. The group then found the jasmine garden, and this is where they chose to build the temple. Before 1961, the main shrine had an image of Mata Annapurneswari. When the statue was later put in a jasmine garden, it was called Mullakkal Bhagawthy. People think that a person with a mental illness went into the inner sanctorum and hugged the idol. After that, cracks were found in the idol’s body. Later in 1962, an idol of Rajarajeswari was made and put on the shrine. The old statue was then taken away because it was broken.
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Architecture of the Temple
This Mullukkal Rajarajeswari Temple is made in the style of old Kerala buildings. It has a well-kept wall, a beautiful pond, and lots of trees and jasmine plants on the property. The temple’s statue of Durga Maa has four arms and is known as ‘Mullakkal Devi’ or ‘Mullakkal Amma’. At the moment, the temple is run by the Travancore Devaswom Board of Kerala. It has an open roof, but about 20 feet of it are covered at the door. According to an old custom, elephants are kept in this roofed place, which is used to bring the goddess’s “thidambu” to important events.
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Festivals
There are two big celebrations at this temple. They are:
The last two days of the Navarathiri Festival are called Vijayadhashmi and Mahanavmi. The festival lasts for nine days. On the last two days, a parade of nine painted elephants is a big part of the celebration.
During this festival, there are also many artistic events, such as Ottanthullal.
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The Thaipooya Kavadi Festival is another famous event that takes place once a year. Fifteen Kavadis take part in a parade during this festival.
Mullakkal Chirappu is another event that is held here. During this festival, a lot of tourists come to this temple.
