Kalpathy Sree Viswanatha Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Coimbatore International Airport is the nearest airport to Kalpathy.

• By train

  Palakkad Junction is the nearest major railway station, and a railhead of the Southern Railways.

• By road

  Kalpathy is about 3 km from the centre of Palakkad city. City service buses connect Kalpathy with other parts of the city.

Why devotees come here

Kalpathy Sree Viswanatha Temple stands on the bank of the Kalpathy river, in Kalpathy, a residential area of Palakkad city in Kerala. Shiva is worshipped here as Sri Viswanatha Swamy, with his consort Visalakshi. The temple is known as Dakshina Kashi, the southern Kashi, after the Kashi Viswanath temple in Varanasi.

Kalpathy Sree Viswanatha Temple is known as Dakshina Kashi, the southern Kashi, because it looks like the Kashi Viswanath temple on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi. Villagers claim the temple was built at the wish of Lakshmi Ammal, a Brahmin woman from Kollengode. Legend says she brought the Shiva lingam from Varanasi on one of her visits there.

The temple dates back to the early fifteenth century. A stone inscription records endowments made in Malayalam Era 600, which is 1424-25 AD, by a member of the Palakkad royal family. The temple was first under the control of the Akathethara kings of Palakkad. Its last renovation and consecration were held in 1956 and 1981. Kerala's tourism department has started a heritage project to protect the temple and the Brahmin agraharams around it.

The temple stands at the bottom of eighteen steps that rise from its eastern gopuram, the gateway tower. The Shiva idol is a bana lingam, and it faces east. The Visalakshi idol faces south, close beside it. The festival chariots are pulled through the agraharam, the Tamil Brahmin settlement that surrounds the temple.

Festivals

• Thulam month (November)Kalpathy Ratholsavam

  The annual chariot festival lasts ten days. Vedic hymn recitals and traditional performances fill the first four days, and devotees pull the chariots through the narrow streets in the final three.

• Concluding day of the RatholsavamDevarathasamgamam

  The chariots meet in front of the temple in a gathering called Devarathasamgamam.

• Fifth day of the RatholsavamAncham Thirunal

  A ritual called Ancham Thirunal is held on the fifth day of the festival.

Tips for your visit

• Walk through the Kalpathy agraharam to see the Tamil Brahmin settlement around the temple.
• Kerala Tourism says over 200,000 people take part in the chariot festival each year, and the streets are narrow.

Questions people ask