Kadampuzha Bhagavathy Temple in Malappuram

Kadampuzha – meaning “the forest river”, but no river is present now – is a small town in Kerala and is known for the famous temple of Goddess Durga by the name Kadampuzha Devi Temple. Kadampuzha Devi Temple is a Hindu temple, situated in the Thiroor Taluka of Malapuram district in Kerala.


The temple is believed to come into existence approximately 1900 years ago. The temple belongs to the Malabar Devaswom Board, a Government of Kerala undertaking; the administrative activities are carried out by a trust made up of the Variar family and other trustees, which is not hereditary.

The temple at Kadampuzha for Sreeparvathi is devoted to Goddess Vana Durga. The Goddess is also known as “Kirati”. Since, the idol is “Swayambhoo” or natural manifestation, it is abstract in shape. The architecture of the temple is very simple without any imposing edifices or gold-plated flagmast. The first of its kind, the temple has no idol inside; the offerings are made at the hole where the Goddess is believed to have disappeared.

Kadampuzha Temple History

According to the famous legend, Arjuna, the Pandava prince was offering pooja to Lord Shiva at the place where the current temple is situated in order to attain the pasupathathasthra. Impressed by his poojas, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy wanted to test him. Then, Mukasura, a devil took the form of a wild boar and started destroying trees and shrubs around Arjuna while he was in deep meditation. Both Lord Shiva and Arjuna shot the wild boar and were arguing over who killed it. They decided to fight against each other and agreed that the winner was the one who had hunted the wild boar. But the battle became intense and went on for several days and at the end Arjuna got defeated. Disheartened Arjuna started flowering a big stone assuming that as Goddess Parvati Devi and to his surprise he found the flower falling at the feet of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Both were delighted by Arjuna’s dedication and blessed him with the arrow.

Story of the Hole at the Temple

The other legend involves the saint Adi Sankaracharya, who used to travel frequently. The saint, during one of his tours, happened to pass through Kadampuzha which was no more than a grass land at that time.

He got stuck on his way, as he realized that he had striked an invisible wall. The point was actually the meeting point of Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva. As the thought dawned on him, he started praying to the Goddess. Pleased with him, devi appeared before him, blessed him, and then disappeared into a small hole.

He performed a pooja at that place in Vrishchikam, the first month according to the Malyalam calendar (November-December) and later the temple was built around that hole.


The two important religious ceremonies performed daily at the temple and they are:

• Poomoodal: In this ceremony they cover the entire deity with fresh flowers every day. This is the most important pooja performed everyday between 0900 and 1100. After this ritual, temple is closed for the morning.
• Muttarukkal: The Pujari breaks the coconuts in front of the Goddess and it should be broken correctly in two equal halves which mean that the problems of the devotees are removed. Muttarukkal means keeping away from obstacles. If the coconut does not break into two equal halves, then the process will be continued until the coconuts are broken equally and it is considered that the benevolence of the Goddess of Kadampuzha has solved the problem. This pooja is performed in the morning between 0500 and 0700 only on weekdays. On Sundays, apart from the morning offering, it is also done in the evening between 1500 and 1745.

Normally, the deity is considered to be more powerful on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Annadaana (food offering) is made daily at the temple premises and plastic bags are not allowed inside the temple. Karthikai day in the month of Vrischikam (November-December) is considered special and celebrated in a grand manner by the temple.

The temple is owned by Malabar Devaswom Board which comes under the Government of Kerala and administered through a trust that consists of Hindu-Variar family who are non-hereditary co-opted trustees.

There is also another temple in the vicinity of Kadampuzha Temple called Madambiyar Kavu Temple which was constructed and maintained by the “Thekkancheri” Nair family. The idol of the Madambiyar Kavu temple is Lord Shiva in “Kirata” incarnation.

Kadampuzha in Malappuram district is far from the bustle of city life and just about two kilometres east of Vettichira between Valancherry and Kottakkal on N.H.17.

How to Reach Kadampuzha Temple

From Nearest Railway Station: From the Tirur Railway Station head south-east towards Tirur-Thrikandiyoor Road and at A R Bakery turn left on to Tirur-Malappuram-Manjeri Road and go through two roundabouts and pass by the petrol pump Talakadatur on the left on the left side and turn right onto Tirur-Iringavoor Kadungatund Road/Vailatur-Puthananthani Road and continue to follow Vailatur-Puthananthani Road and pass by the Primary Health Centre on the left side and continue onto the Vailature Puthanathani Road and walk past the Kalpakanchery Grama Panchayath situated on the right side and at Doorz Impex continue onto Thanalur Puthanathani Road and pass by the Iris Atrium on the right side and turn left at Simplex Cards and Print and turn right at AMM Hospital onto Edapally-Panvel Highway and pass by the Salafi Masjid on the right side and turn left at Vettichira and onto Vettichira Perinthalmana Road and pass by the Indian Oil situated on the right side then turn left at Kadampuzha Police Outpost to stay on Vettichira Perinthalmanna Road and walk past the Thanima Textiles on the left side and turn right at Pixy Ads onto Temple Road and pass by the Inspire Computer Service Centre on the left and you will find the temple on the right.

From Nearest Bus Depot: From the Tirur Bus Depot head towards north on Edapally-Panvel Highway towards the Ponnani Byepass and continue to follow Edapally-Panvel Highway and turn right at Chamra Vattam Jct onto Edapally-Panvel Highway/Palakkad Ponnani Road and pass by the Dhanlaxmi Bank on the right and turn left at Edappal Jct onto Edapally – Panvel Highway/Palakkad Ponnani Road and pass by the Dhanlaxmi Bank on the right side and turn left at Edappal Jct onto Edapally-Panvel Highway/Thrissur-Kuttipuram Road and continue to follow Edapally Panvel Highway and pass by the State Bank of Travancore SBT on the left side then turn left onto Athavanad Road/Kanjippura-Athavanad Road/Kuttippuramkunnu Killinikode Road and pass by the Malabar Muslim Mission High School on the left side and turn right onto Athavanad Road/Kanjippura-Athavanad Road and pass by the Souparnika on the right side then turn left onto Edapally-Panvel Highway and pass by Vettichira Petrol Pump situated on the right and turn right at Vettichira onto Vettichira Perinthalmanna Road and pass by the Indian Oil on the right side turn left at Kadampuzha Police outpost to stay on Vettichira Perinthalmanna Road and passby Thanima Textiles on the left side and take slight right at Pixy Ads onto Temple Road and pass by Inspire Computer Service Centre on the left side and the temple will be on the right side.

Address: Kadampuzha Bhagavathy Temple, Kadampuzha, Malappuram District