About 16 kms away from Ernakulam, the Chottanikkara Temple enshrines the Goddess Bhagavathi in three forms: Sara...
About 16 kms away from Ernakulam, the Chottanikkara Temple enshrines the Goddess Bhagavathi in three forms: Saraswathi (the goddess of learning), Bhadrakali (the fierce form of the goddess Kali), and Durga (the divine mother). Worshippers throng the temple throughout the year and the nine-day Makam Thozhal festival held during the months of February and March is attended by thousands. Offering prayers during the festival is believed to bless prospective brides and young girls with a happy married life. Pilgrims seeking liberation from mental illnesses come to this temple and hammer in long iron nails into a banyan tree here, with their foreheads. The tree is centuries old and is sacred as the act of hammering in the nails is considered to render troublesome spirits away.
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