The temple of Pisharikavu

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The temple dedicated to Goddess Bhadrakali has many legends associated with its origin. There are no historical records of when the temple was built but the stories trace its origin to around the early 18th century. The Ettuveetil family who belonged to the Vaishya community is credited for building the temple. After their plot of killing the powerful king Marthanda Varma - the ruler of erstwhile Travancore kingdom was foiled they fled to the north & settled in a place called Kollam. They were enterprising merchants & devotees of goddess Sri Porkali. To get more prosperous in the new land, one member of the family undertook a penance to please the goddess. The Goddess pleased with his devotion appeared before him & handed over her sword – Nandakam saying – “Believe I’m there with you irrespective of where you are”. She asked him to worship the sword as a symbol of her. The family became prosperous in years and in devotion wanted to build a temple & asked the Zamorin king to give them some land for this purpose. The Zamorin who himself was a devotee offered them land to build the temple for which the merchants paid. Ettuveetil means from eight families & they are Kizhiyil, Vazhayil, Elayedath, Echarathil, Punathil, Nanothu, Mundakkal & Eroth who migrated north to the new temple area & built their houses. The community still exists & they have the rights to conduct the festival Kaliyattom each year at the temple. 

The temple has two Srikovils or Sanctums, one for Goddess Bhagwathy & the other for Lord Shiva. The famous 8 days festival of Kaliyattam is celebrated annually at the temple which attracts devotees from all over. On the day of Valiya Vilaku during Kaliyattam festival, the Nandakam sword is brought in a grand procession around the temple on a fully decorated female elephant. The festival includes many cultural activities and temple performances on all days and attracts a large crowd from all around the state. The temple is also a well known destination for the Navratri festivals. 

Pisharikavu may have been a temple started by the higher caste but it was open for all and this was a distinction from many other temples of the past where lower caste members of the society were not allowed to enter temples. This created a religious harmony among people & cooperation led to a better way of life.

Location: Koyilandy, Kerala, India

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