In this album I cover a brief visit to Kodungallur Sri Kurumba Bhagavathi temple in Kerala. On the Christmas day of 2024, I started from Udumalpet by taxi at 5:30 AM and reached Kodungallur by 9:30 AM with a short break for breakfast. We passed thru Pollachi, Thrissur and Periyar river and reached the grounds of Bhagavathi Temple. I spent 2 hours and took outside photos and videos. I wish I had spent more time. I wish I had an English speaking guide.But, no worry! I did see the sanctum sanctorum and stepped onto the temple grounds where Kannagi and Cheran Senguttuvan preumably walked long ago! Summary: It is rare to visit a place for couple of hours and then indulge in a passionate research for couple of weeks. Kodungallur is one such place! Reasons are many. It has rich history. Kodungallur was a chief port, known as Muziris, for many centuries. It was a hub for spice trade. Pepper, cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric of Kerala sailed from here to Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Chinese. It was a busy port carrying these spices, ivory, pearls, diamonds, silk and muslin cloth in ships to many countries in the world. The other name for Muziris was Vanci. Vanci was the capital city of Chera kingdom. In particular, Cheran Senguttuvan ruled from Vanci which was later known as Kodungallur (கொடுங்கல்லூர்). As the spice route put Muziris on the world map, Silappadhikaram put it on Indian map, more specifically, Dravidian Map. In the epic Silappathigaram, Ilango Adikal first describes the travel path of hopeful Kovalan and Kannagi from Poompuhar (Chozha kingdom) to Madurai (Pandya kingdom) and then a climactic travel of Kannagi from Madurai to Neduvelkundram (Chera kingdom). It is said Kannagi attained salvation in Neduvelkundram. One school of scholars say Neduvelkundram is actually the current Kodungallur. Others say it may be near Kodungallur. Yet others say it is Managala Devi Hills (in the Idikki district of Kerala or Theni district of Tamilnadu). Debate continues. Right now, Kodungallur is famous for Bhagavathi temple. She is the leading deity of 64 Bhagavathi temples in Kerala. The temple is considered the chief of 64 Sakthipeedas. The temple is adored by many devotees of Bhadrakali. Interestingly, rituals conducted in this temple link the deity to Kannagi. The festivals that take place in this temple link the temple to Kannagi. The songs sung during the festival also link this temple to Kannagi. There are many questions regarding the place and the temple. An importatnt question to ask about the main deity- Is it Kotravai or Kannagi or Bhadrakali? After visitng the temple and reading about it in Google search, I speculate it is Kotravai, the Goddess of war and victory in the beginning of its history and Kannagi, the heroine of the epic Cilappathikaram later; she became Bhadrakali, much later. This temple was started by Dravidians during the early Sangam period as Kotravai; got converted to Kannagi during Cheran Senguttuvan's period and ended up as Sakthi peedam during Adi Sankara's time. It is a temple of antiquity and provides continuity of culture and religious practices for many centuries and many generations! Kodungallur and the Temple: As a student, I was very much interested in Silappathikaram. Kannagi was a pious, brave and smart woman. Many books are written about the epic and Kannagi. Two Tamil films and one Malayalam film were taken on Kannagi story. We have statues for Kannagi in marina beach and elsewhere in Tamilnadu. Kerala is known for Bhagavathi temples. Scholars associate the worship of Bhagavathi in Kerala temples to the worship of Kotravai Goddess in ancient Tamil society. In Silappathigaram Kannagi made Madurai burn as a revenge to the injustice done to her husband by tearing off her left breast as a curse. She is known as "oru mulai izhantha thirumaa pathini"( single breasted heroine). Kodungallur was a port city for centuries. It was called as Muziris (Muchiripattanam). Silappathikaram says Kannagi went to Neduvelgundram in Tamil kingdom (may be in Kerala now) and attained salvation. Cheran Senguttuvan heard this story from Kuravas of a hill region. Kodungallur was then the capital city of Senguttuvan. It is possible the King built a temple for Kannagi in his capital city, Kodungallur. There is yet another story that says Kannagi came to this temple from Madurai and attained peace and salvation here. I went there to check out the Kannagi details. After crossing Periyar river we entered Kodungallur and the temple area. Beautiful banyan trees adore the front yard. I went to the administartive office. There was a lady officer who spoke only Malayalam. I was looking for a guide. She said no one speaks English there (at that time?). Then I got hold of someone at the puja ticket counter. He said he can help me with the darshan of the main deity but he can't speak in English. I said OK. Within few minutes, I was there in front of Bhagavathi. To my surprise, it was much sooner than I expected. The deity was well decorated; I was very close to it; but people were coming in on a long line and moving quickly after few seconds of darshan. I couldn't get a chance to study it closely because I was standing outside the moving crowd. Later I learnt, it is the Bhadrakali with eight arms. One of the arms is holding an anklet which reminds us of Kannagi. Besides the main deity, I was taken to another deity, Vasoori Mala. She is the Goddess of Small Pox. In front of the idol, a woman gave turmeric (health benefits of the spice cum herb) to worship. I also read in Internet that Vasoorimala is called as "otrai mulaichi" (single breasted woman). I looked at a photo from the internet and it is not obvious. The other deities surrounding the Bhagavati are : Siva lingam, Sapthamatrukas (seven mothers), Vinayakar, Veerabhadra, Shetrabalan (guardian and administrator of the temple premises) and Thavittu Muthi (Goddess of husk). Management and Sign boards: A general comment on Tourism department and the temple management is warranted here. They seem to do a good job in urban areas like Cochin but rural monuments, temples and historic sites lack adequate sign boards despite the fact they have rich history, religious affiliation, literary and anthropology references. Kodungallur is famous from the days of Ramayana to Cheran Senguttuvan rule. It was a capital city; chief port city. There is Kotravai and Kannagi connections. St.Thomas, the apostle of Jesus, landed at this port and started his first church. Prophet Mohammad sent his emissary and the first mosque (Cheran Juma Masjid) was built. Pepper and spice trade dominated the spice route from Alexandria to China thru Muziris (Kodungallur). Despite all these, there is not a single sign board in English or Hindi or Tamil or Malayalam to sing the glory of the town and the temple. The visitor from out of state and the country is at a loss without them. A post script- It is interesting that Kerala government heard this complaint from many others and it has plans to build a Kodungallur Temple Museum within the premises as a part of Muziris Heritage Project! It will be great for future visitors when it is completed. Discussion: There is an important festival in March/April. It is called Bharani festival. Festival starts with chasing a goldsmith three times around the temple by the devotees. Goldsmith is the one who betrayed Kovalan in Silappathigaram by stealing the anklet of the Queen and passing the blame to Kovalan. The festival is dominated by the so called "lower caste people" who uses vulgar language and songs (Bharani pattu) to please Bhadrakali. Kozhikallu moodal is a ceremony in which animals (cocks) were sacrificed and the blood and country liquor were offered to the Goddess. Now a red cloth is offered instead, since the animal sacrifice is banned. People (men and women) walk around the compound (10 acres) with sickle shaped sword. They even hurt themeselves offering their own blood. People go on trance and in ecstacy foretell the future of devotees. These oracles are called velichapads. The ceremony is Kavu Theendal. It is intresting to note that this temple is the first temple in Kerala to allow people of all castes to enter the temple. As in other Kerala temples, men have to take off their shirts before entering the temple. In my brief visit of two hours, I haven't found direct evidence (written or physical) for Kannagi in the temple premises except for the anklet in one of the arms of Bhagavathi. The deity is made of wood, not a stone brought from Himalayas by Cheran Senguttuvan. What happened to the original if Senguttuvan built this temple for Kannagi? Is Vasoori Mala, the original idol?Shetrabalan, the guardian of the temple reminds Sadhukkabutam, the guardian deity at the junction of of four roads in Silappadhikaram. The epic states Sadhukkabutam defends women and punishes injustice. Was there any idol for Kovalan? Some say the secret chamber behind Sri Chakra room has a tunnel or underground path way to Kovalan Temple in Tiruvanjikulam. Right now it is called Tiruvanjikulam Mahadeva Temple which has an association with Sundaramurthy Nayanar. A hotel and a guest house named after Kannagi confirms the common beliefs. Internet search reveals people do associate this temple with Kannagi for generations and are practicing their worship of Kannagi even today thru Bharani, Kavu Theendal and Thalappoli festivals. There is a book by A.K.Perumal in Tamil (NCBH Publication) on this temple and Kannagi connection. Excerpts from this interesting book are given in this blog post- https://www.kurugu.in/2023/05/blog-post_14.html A great friend of mine, RM Krishnan (CIT, Chem E) is a Tamil scholar with research outlook. He analyzed literary references and history and came to the conclusion that Kannagi story probably took place in 80-75 BC. Ilango Adikal wrote the epic few years later. There is evidence to believe Kodungallur is the Pathini Kottam mentioned in the epic and the main deity (stone) is probably hidden in the secret chamber adjacent to the current idol (jackfruit wood) of Bhagavathi. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/ss-37352202/37352202 https://valavu.blogspot.com/2010/05/12.html After doing Google search, I have uncovered some controversies regarding this temple- 1. It's a Dravidian temple, built for Kotravai and then converted to Kannagi. Aryans in turn converted it to Bhadrakali temple and got rid of the vulgar and violent practices followed by its devotees, mainly lower caste prople. 2. Adi Sankaracharya is given credit for converting this Dravidian temple to Aryan by assigning Sri Chakra which supposedly, pacified Maa Kali and took out the need for animal sacrifice, country liquor and vulgar language. 3. There is a secret chamber, east of the main deity behind Sri Chakra. People speculate it contains earthly remains of Kannagi or precious jewels donated by kings, or a secret tunnel to go to the temple of Kovalan and Shiva . The chamber is kept closed to the public but prayers are offered routinely. 4. There is another site, Mangala Devi temple in the Thekkadi region that competes with Kodungallur as a place where Kannagi attained salvation. It is open only on Chitra Pournami day. Kerala government keeps it closed for the rest of the year for environmental reasons. It is part of Periyar Tiger Reserve. Tamilnadu state is trying for the rights to the Mangala Devi site. The temple is rooted in religion, history and literature. An unbiased, scientific evidence such as archaeological excavation will help solve the numerous questions regarding this temple and its connection to Kannagi and Cheran Senguttuvan. Temple authorities should reveal the details of the "secret chamber" so that unnecessary speculations can be put to rest. PS: I have included 24 photos and slides from internet/google search. They help my analysis and give a complete picture of the temple and its festivals.