History

History

05, Oct Pulpally Devaswam

Wayanad is well known as tourist’s paradise.It is also the sacred land of CHEDATTILAMMA, Thirunelly Perumal and Valliyooramma. The high peak like Bhrahmagiri and Banasura and the river kabani give a prisitine beauty to this land. The natural beauty of wayanad once attracted Mahathma Gandhi and he remarked that it is the Kashmir of SouthIndia. The region is a hub of high value spices and plantation crops like Coffee,Pepper,Tea, Carrdamom,Rubber and Ginger. The name Wayanad is believed to be derived from the word vayalnadu, meaning the land of paddy fields. The idyllic nature of wayanad, its nearness to Ooty and Mysore, with well laid roads to these centers offers tremendous tourist potential. Pulpally is situated on the north east part of Wayanad adjoing Karnataka. It is 16 Kms away from Panamaram on the Kalpetta Manantoddy road, 25 kms from Sultans Battery on the Kozhikode Mysore NH 212. Pulpally is connected to the legend of Rama. It is believed that when Sita was abandoned by Rama, she reached Pulpally and was given shelter by the great Sage Valmiki. The place in Pulpally, where Sita gave birth to Lava and Kusa is called Valmiki Ashramam. Chedattinkavu is the original temple of Pulpally Devaswam..According to the legend Lava and Kusa the two sons of SitaDevi stopped and caught the horse,sent by Rama as part of the Ashwamedha. When Rama came to free the horse, he saw Sita and immedietly she disappeared in the earth, her mother. While going down, her hair was caught by Rama and thus the name Chedattinkavu or Jadayattakavu to the spot. Chedattilamma (Sita devi) is the presiding deity of this temple along with Sapthamathrukkal. This temple is only 1 Km away from the present Sita Temple. Nei(ghee) vilakku is a main offering here. The present Sitadevi Lavakusa temple was built during the regime of Veera Kerala Varma Pazhassiraja. Pulpally is the only place where Sitadevi is worshipped with her children Lava and Kusa.

Lava Kusha

In addition to Sitadevi(Chedattilamma) and Murikkanmar (Lava and Kusa) Ayyappan,Ganapathy,Subrahmanian and Vettakkorumakan (Siva) are worshipped along with a stone image of Serpant (Nagam). Kuppathode Nair family is the OOralan of the shrine and the properties attached to it.. The eldest member(Moopil Nair) of the Kuppathode family residing at Nellaratt Edam at Panamaram was in charge of the Devaswam till the period of late Kuppathode Govindan alias MoopiNair.Now the Trustee and manager of the Devaswam are appointed from the Kuppathode Family by Malabar Devaswam board as per the Scheme framed in 1945. Kuppathode rajasekharan nair is the present trustee. The special rights and poojas of the temple are done by the priests of Chathanattu Illam and Kozhikkottiri Mana. There are three Poojas everyday in the temple. The main nivedyam for Sitadevi is whiterice,payasam and sweetappam to Murikkanmar. Special poojas are there during the 41 days of mandala season. In addition to that in the month of Makaram, Revathy day is observed as installation day. The main festival (Chuttuvilakku) is celebrated from 18th to 23rd of Dhanu. Irrespective of religion,caste and creed people from all walks of life attend and cooperate with the annual festival with great enthusiasm and devotion. A festival committee headed by the Devaswam trustee is in charge of the celebrations. In the earlier days Devaswam owned 14899 acres of land and so many elephants. The last one elephant named Sankarankutty passed away in 2012. The land was lost by the encroachments during the migration of people from Travancore. There is a pond filled with pandanus(Screw pine) trees near the temple. It is believed that Pazhassiraja threw away his Golden sword and other valuable belongings in this pond. This spot is also considered to be very ambalam sacred. Karimam, the officicial residence of the Trustee is also an inseparable part of the temple. A lamp is lighted there also. Near the temple there is a Vellattuthara. According to the legend it was the play ground of Lava and Kusa. On the second day of every Malayalam month except Karkkidakam and Vrischikam a special ceremony called Vellattu is observed there by the members of Kalanadi tribe. Another sub temple is Karimkali temple where Pooja is performed every month. The huge Rosewood tree in this compound attract many visitors. On the Bathery road, not very far, there is a Bommathan Thara, where the Deity is Siva. The devotees belonging to Chetty community worship there. On the 10th day of Edavam month special Pooja is performed there. Valmeeki Aashramam(Hermitage) which is supposed to be the Poorvasthanam of the temple attract many people because it is believed that Sage Valmeeki resided there along with Sita and Lava Kusa. After Vishu, the 7th day, Pooja is performed there. There is a big rock in the down valley and people believe that Valmeeki Maharshi meditated there, sitting on it. According to old people when finger is rubbed on the rock, sandal paste comes out in the olden days.Sisumala ( now transformed as Sasimala ), a small hill was also the spot where Lava and Kusha roamed merrily. Near the temple there is a special place for Hanuman, the loyal attendant of Goddess Sita. May the glory of Pulpally continue for ever. May the Almighty Goddess Sita bestore her blessings on all those who visit this holy place.