Puthucode Annapoorneshwari temple, also known as Bhagavathy temple, is located at Puthucode near Alathur in Palakkad district, Kerala. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Annapurna. The shrine is famous for the annual 9-day Navratri festival held in Malayalam Kanni Masam (September – October). The temple is one among the 108 Durga temples built by Parshuram Avatar of Bhagavan Vishnu.
As per some local beliefs, the deity
worshipped in the temple is Vaishnava Durga and she is worshipped as Goddess
Annapurna only during the Navratri period. The temple is believed to have been
built during the 8th century CE.
The temple has a chathura sreekovil,
chuttambalam, namaskara mandapam, dwajasthambam or flag post and shrines of upa
devatas.
The annual festival in the temple is famous for traditional temple art forms, splendid decorations and live musical performances. Floral decorations, panchavadyam and caparisoned elephants are some of the events that attract huge crowd to the temple.
The entire temple premises and chuttambalam are fully lit and decorated with lights (deepalankaram) and this is a mesmerizing scene during the evenings. The processions and the musical performances happen twice a day on all the nine days.
The nine day festival is also famous for
sadya – feast. Some of the famous dishes that are prepared for the sadhya are
Puthucode Navratri pulissery, olan and idichu pizhinja payasam or
chathusatham. The free food known as Prasadam ottu is served
on all 9 days of the festival from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
As per history, the temple was the foremost
shrine under the administration of Naduvil Madhom Mooppil Samiyar of Thrissur.
Panapayasam is a unique offering to the
deity.
Five pujas and three sreebalis are
performed daily in the temple. Varam recitals are held in the month of
November – December.
Puthucode Annapoorneshwari Temple Timings
Morning darshan timings are from 5:00 AM to 11 AMEvening darshan timings are from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM