Thonnallur Pattupurakkavu Bhagavathi temple is a famous Hindu temple

Hindu temple

A Mandir, Devalayam, Devasthanam, or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism...

 located at Pandalam

Pandalam

Pandalam is one among the fastest growing towns in Kerala, India. Known far and wide for its legendary connection with Lord Ayyappa and Sabarimala, Pandalam is considered to be a holy town...

 in Pathanamthitta District

Pathanamthitta district

Pathanamthitta district is the youngest district located in the southern part of the state of Kerala, India. The district headquarters is in Pathanamthitta town. The district is surrounded by Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha and Kollam districts. It has a border with the state of Tamil Nadu in the east...

, Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 state, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The deity

Deity

A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....

 in this temple is Bhadrakali

Bhadrakali

Bhadrakāli , is one of the forms of the Great Goddess mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Sanskrit, the word Bhadra means "blessed", "auspicious", "fair", "beautiful", "good", "fortunate", "prosperous"....

. This temple is part of the famous Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 temples at Pandalam, which include Valiyakoikkal temple

Valiyakoikkal temple

Valiakoikkal Temple is the family temple of the Pandalam Royal Family. The temple is located at Pandalam in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala. It is situated within the Pandalam Palace premises. The main deity is Ayyappan. Procession of the Thiruvabharanam towards Sabarimala shrine starts from the...

, Mahadevar temple and Kaipuzha Sree Krishna Swamy temple. Pattupurakkavu Devi temple hosted the first ever Devi Bhagavatha Sathram in Kerala, from April 28 to May 7, 2010.

The official website of Thonnallur Bhagavathi temple is www.thonnallurbhagavathi.com

Location

The temple is located one kilometer to the north of Pandalam junction, by the Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

 - Angamaly

Angamaly

Angamaly is a satellite town of the city of Kochi, situated north of the city center and a municipality in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. It is one of the entry points or gateways to Ernakulam district from northern Kerala...

 MC Road

Main Central Road

The Main Central Road is the arterial State Highway in the Travancore region of Kerala state, India. It is designated as SH 1 by the Kerala Public Works Department.The highway was built by Raja Kesavadas, Dewan of Travancore...

. Landmarks include Pandalam Post Office, Police Station and Government UP School.

Other deities

Like other Hindu temples, Pattupurakkavu Bhagavathi temple also has shrines of other deities. These deities include shrines of Ganapathi, Shiva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

, Udayan, Brahmarakshas, Yakshi and Anamarutha. Other deities include snake gods and goddesses, eructed in a grove. The temple complex also includes a Navagraha

Navagraha

Graha is a 'cosmic influencer' on the living beings of mother Bhumidevi . In Hindu astrology, the Navagraha are some of these major influencers.All the navagraha have relative movement with respect to the background of fixed stars in the zodiac...

 shrine, built on the north-east side of the temple.

Temple complex and facilities

The temple complex also includes an Anakkottil (platform for elephants during the rite Seva), a holy pond

Pond

A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...

, office room, and a few banyan trees. The temple has arrangements for Hindu wedding

Hindu wedding

Hindu wedding is thought to be the bringing of two people who are said to be compatible. Hindu wedding ceremonies are traditionally conducted at least partially in Sanskrit, the language of most holy Hindu ceremonies. The local language of the people involved is also used since most Hindus do not...

, including feast hall and change rooms. It also has a stage to conduct cultural events. The temple has a Navratri mandapam annexe situated near Pandalam central junction. The deity in the annexe temple is Saraswati

Saraswati

In Hinduism Saraswati , is the goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. She is the consort of Brahma, also revered as His Shakti....

, the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts.

Festivals and major occasions

The annual temple festival is conducted on the Aswathy day in the Malayalam month of Meenam. Special poojas are performed on that day. Traditional temple art forms and cultural programmes are also conducted. In addition to the festival programmes, the temple also hosts Devi Bhagavath Sathrams, Sapthahams, and Navahams frequently. These include renditions and lectures based on Hindu epics and puranas.

Navratri is also of rich significance to this temple. Special poojas, Carnatic

Carnatic music

Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...

 concerts and cultural programmes are performed in the Navratri Mandapam annexe annually during Navratri festival. Apart from Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

s, the organising committee for the Navratri festival includes people from other religions also, including Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s and Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

s. This symbolises the religious and cultural harmony of Pandalam. The Navratri mandapam is considered amongst the best places in Kerala to initiate Vidyarambham

Vidyarambham

Vidyarambham is a Hindu tradition where children between two and three years old are formally initiated into the characters of the syllabary....

.