About Chettikulangara

Chettikulangara Sree Bhagavathi temple is one of the most renowned Hindu temples in Kerala. The temple is located at Chettikulangara in Mavelikkara taluk of Alappuzha district in the south Indian state of Kerala. The temple is situated about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Mavelikkara, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of Kayamkulam on SH6 (Kayamkulam - Thiruvalla Highway).One important aspect of the Chettikulangara Sree Bhagavathi temple is that the deity appears as Maha Saraswathi in the morning, as Maha Lakshmi at noon and Sri Durga or Bhadrakali in the evening. The temple has 13 "Karas", or territories. The temple is at the centre of the oldest four Karas (Erezha South, Erezha North, Kaitha South and Kaitha North) and the rest of the Karas (Kannamangalam South, Kannamangalam North, Pela, Kadavoor, Anjilipra, Mattam North, Mattam South, Menampally and Nadakkavu) surround the temple, which is believed to be 1,200 years old. The Thantric rights of the temple belongs to Plackudy Illom, With its Tharavadu (Base) in Ambalapuzha. Plackudy is one among the ancient Thantric families of Kerala. Recently UNESCO collected details about the temple and its customs (Kuthiyottam, Kumbhabharani) in order to examine whether the temple is eligible for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is the second largest temple in terms of income under the control of Travancore Devaswom Board, second only next to Sabarimala.[1] It is estimated that the temple has earnings worth many crores per year. In 2009 it earned around 1.7 crore Rupees from a single type of offering called "Chanthattam". A major part of the Nellu offered to the Bhagavathi is also used to make Appam and Aravana prasadams at Sabarimala. The income from the temple is also helpful to run the daily rituals and Poojas at various temples under the Travancore Devaswom Board.