Madayikavu Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Kannur is the nearest airport, about 48.5 km away.

• By train

  Pazhayangadi is the nearest railway station, on the Shoranur-Mangalore line, 2.4 km to the south.

• By road

  The temple is on the Pappinisseri-Pilathara KSTP road, 1.3 km north of Pazhayangadi town.

Rules to know

• Lungi, shirt and banian are not allowed inside the sanctum.
• Jeans are not allowed inside the temple.

Why devotees come here

Madayikavu, also known as Thiruvarkadu Bhagavathi Temple, is dedicated to the fierce form of Bhadrakali at Pazhayangadi, near Kannur in Kerala. The Shiva shrine faces east, and the Bhadrakali shrine faces west.

The deity is the fierce form of Bhadrakali, worshipped here as Thiruvarkadu Bhagavathi. The temple is also called Madayi Kavu. Legend says a demon named Darika troubled Madayi. Bhadrakali killed him, and then asked Shiva to enshrine her in a temple near him. The telling is a legend, so it is best read as belief rather than history. The temple is famous in Kerala as a Bhadrakali shrine.

Pazhayangadi is famous for the Madayi Kavu, which was once a temple associated with the Kolathiri rulers. Around 1780, during Hyder Ali's incursion into Malabar, the temple was desecrated with the entrails of slaughtered cattle. A local Nair warrior, Vengayil Chathukutty, beheaded the man responsible. The Shiva shrine faces east, while the Bhadrakali shrine faces west. Pazhayangadi is a small township about 23 km north of Kannur, and the temple lies 1.3 km north of the town.

Festivals

• MarchPooram

  The major festival of the temple.

• Idavam month of the Malayalam calendarPerumkaliyattam

  The temple's Perumkaliyattam festival falls in this month.

Tips for your visit

• Jeans are not allowed inside the temple, so choose a mundu, salwar kameez, saree or skirt.
• Pooram in March is the temple's major festival.

Questions people ask