Mannadi Bhagavathy Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to
Goddess Bhadrakali in Pathanamthitta District in Kerala. The shrine is shrouded
in mystery and the stories associated with the temple are spooky, supernatural
and exciting. Temple details, daily morning pooja, evening darshan timings and story of Velichappadu, or temple oracle, are given in detail below. The Mannady temple is located off Enathu on the Adoor –
Kottarakkara MC Road and is around 3 km from Enathu on the way to Kadampanad.
History of Mannadi Bhagavathy
The murti of Mother Goddess Bhagavathi worshipped in the
temple was discovered accidentally. The place where the present day temple is
located was a dense forested area. One day few women of the region sharpened their sickle for cutting grass on a
stone and suddenly blood started gushing out from the stone. The ruler of the
region Mangalathu Panicker was informed about the unusual incident.
He arrived at the spot, realized the presence of divinity,
and asked his attendants to fill sand in the denture in the stone from which
blood was gushing out. Mannu in malayalam means ‘sand’ and the place and Bhagavathy got the
name Mannady.
Panicker then ordered a Brahmin to prepare naivedya (Prasad)
for the Goddess. Suddenly a person of the Oorali caste appeared in trance. He
was uncontrollable and he ordered that the Devi does not prefer Naivedya but
Aval (beaten rice), malar and banana etc. Panicker himself should offer it and
there should be no Brahmin priest in the temple.
People did not believe him. He suddenly ran to a nearby mountain,
which was not possible for humans to climb. He went up and down the mountain a couple of times. He then ventured into a nearby forest,
came out with tiger cubs, and reached the place where the murti of Bhadrakali
was found.
People then realized Oorali was telling the truth and followed his instructions. He was known as Kambithan. He made several important predictions after that. All of them came true. He helped the king of Travancore in retrieving the lost valuables of the famous Anand Padmanabha Swamy Temple.
Mannadi Bhagavathy Temple
The temple is a typical Kerala shrine. There is no roof for
the main sanctum sanctorum. The murti of Goddess Bhadrakali faces east. There
is widespread belief that Devi blesses childless couples with children.
The rulers of Pandalam, Kayamkulam and Mangalathu Panicker
himself had children after offering prayers here.
Ponmudi, or the golden hair of Goddess, was submitted to
the temple by the then king of Kayamkulam after his prayers for having a child
was answered.
Presently, there are two temples in the compound one is known
as Pazhayakavu Temple (old temple) and the new one is known as Puthiyakavu
Temple.
The annual temple festival is observed in Kumbham Month for
seven days. The first six day festivals are observed in the new shrine and the
last day in the old temple.
Velichappadu at Mannadi Temple
The story of Velichappadu (oracle) at Mannadi Temple is eerie, intriguing and mesmerizing. The Oorali who had arrived at the temple with cubs was the first Oracle. Before his death he predicted that a person will arrive at the shrine in three days and
he will be the next Velichappadu of the temple. A person arrived in the shrine and
he advised the King of Kayamkulam who was performing prayers in the shrine for
begetting children to perform Uchabali (noon ritual) for wish fulfillment.
The king of Kayamkulam was soon blessed with a child and
thus the person was appointed as the oracle of the shrine.
The oracle was given sword and anklet by a Pandya king.
After the death of the oracle the sword and anklet is thrown
into the pond. This spot is known as Parakadavu. The next oracle is appointed
when a person lifts up the sword and anklet from the river.
Another person arrived in the temple carrying a sack full of
salt and he announced that he will be the next oracle and he jumped into the
river and retrieved the sword and anklet.
He died after a few days and another oracle did not turn up.
The after death ceremonies of an oracle can only be
performed after the arrival of the next oracle but no one turned up. Therefore,
the dead body of the oracle was placed in box filled with salt and camphor.
Red Color Pond
Once during the temple festival, the elder and young brother
of the Panicker family indulged in a mock fight. But suddenly the fight turned
serious. The young brother was chased by the elder brother. The younger brother
jumped into the pond. The elder brother too jumped into the pond and came up
after few minutes with the head of the younger brother. From that day onward
the color of the temple pond is red.
Mudi Ezhunnallathu is an important ritual during the annual Uccha Bali festival. The 'Mudi' is carried from the Mudippura to the main temple on the day in procession.
The main ritual during the festival is the killing of Darika and this happens at midnight.
The main ritual during the festival is the killing of Darika and this happens at midnight.
Mannadi Bhagavathy Temple Pooja Timings
Morning Darshan and Puja is from 5:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Evening Darshan and Puja is from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM
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