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About Goddess Hemambika

Goddess Hemambika is a form of Mother Goddess Shakti. She is a minor manifestation and is more sort of a regional deity. In this form, Mother Goddess Devi or Durga is of golden color. Hema here refers to Golden hue. Temples dedicated to Goddess Hemambika are found in South India. In Kerala, the worship is unique, as only the hands of Goddess can be seen.

Legend has it that once the priest at a Hemambika temple looked with sexual desire at the beautiful form of the Goddess. An angry Goddess concealed herself in water and never appeared again. The murti worshipped in the temple is in the form of hands coming out of a well.

Some of the other legends have it that the complete manifestation was not possible due to the impatience of her devotees. Before the complete manifestation devotees jumped into a lake to touch her hands and she disappeared with only hands emerging from the lake.

One of the popular temples dedicated to this form of Goddess Shakti is the Kallekulangara Hemambika Temple, located around 8 km from Palakkad.