Kalladathur temple is located in Kappur village on the Koottanad – Edappal road in Palakkad district, Kerala. There are three temples at Kalladathur. They are Kalladathur Shiva Temple, Vishnu Temple and Bhagavathi Temple.
The Shiva temple has a circular sanctum sanctorum (vatta sreekovil) and this is the oldest temple. The shrine faces east. Khara Maharishi had consecrated the Shivling worshipped in the temple.
The murti worshipped in the Vishnu temple is that of Lakshminarasimha. The temple is located in the northern side and the main murti in the temple is broken. It is believed that the murti was broken during an attack on the temple. The temple is in a dilapidated state and includes huge bali kallukal, Saptamatrikas and Chuttambalam.
The most famous among the three temples is the Kalladathur Bhagavathy temple. The main deity worshiped in the temple is Goddess Bhadrakali and she faces west.
It is believed that the Goddess arrived here from Kodungallur atop the traditional umbrella of Chatussala Namboothiri.
The temple also has a separate grove and a lamp is lit every day by the Velichappadu.
The annual
festival in the temple is observed on the first Friday of the Malayalam month
of Kumbham. The weeklong festival begins on the last Friday of Malayalam month
Makaram with flag hoisting. The flag is here known as kodi koora. An important
event during the 7-day festival is the nizhal pavakoothu (shadow puppet play).
The play is usually based on Ramayana.
On the first Friday
of Kumbham month, para is offered to Goddess. The Para Nirakkal involves
offering of uncooked rice and malar in Para.
On the same day Goddess visits the illam (house) of Ooralan of the temple atop a caparisoned elephant. The deity is then worshipped inside the illam.
The main offering in the temple is Darika Vadham Pattu. The temple belonged to Kavupurathumana. The temple is currently maintained by a committee of villagers.
The temple is opened for morning darshan from 5:30 AM to 9:00 AM. The shrine is open for evening darshan from 5:30 PM to 7:15 PM.