Visit the Mangaladevi Temple located deep in the Thekkady forests which is kept open only for one day in a year on 5th May 2023 which is the Chitra Pournami (Full moon day in the Tamil month of “Chitirai”) Day.
Ancient Tamil literature gives pride of place to the chastity of Kannaki a mythical personality who is found in the ancient Tamil epic, “Silapathikaram” (Tamil: சிலப்பதிகாரம் Malayalam: ചിലപ്പതികാരം) which is said to be one of the 5 great epics of Tamil literature. The epic is a romantic tragedy of a couple, Kannaki and her husband Kovalan written by Elango Adigalar whose name means a young prince who has turned into a venerable ascetic prince.
Kannaki was said to be most chaste among women and was completely dedicated to her husband Kovalan. When her husband Kovalan goes out to sell a bejewelled anklet of Kannaki’s to raise some money, he is wrongly accused and tried by the Pandyan king who believes that he had stolen the Queen’s anklet when it was only Kannaki’s anklet which Kovalan had sold.
When Kovalan does not come back home, Kannagi goes out in search of him. Learning what has happened she storms into the Pandyan Court. She protests the injustice and then proves Kovalan’s innocence by throwing in the court the other bejewelled anklet of the pair she owns. When the king finds the gems in Kannaki’s anklet to be different from the gems in the Queen’s anklet he realises and accepts his mistake. Kannaki then curses the king and the people of Madurai whose wickedness led to the false accusation. The heartbroken king dies in shock and the power of her chastity results in the entire city of Madurai being burnt to the ground by divine flames.
After the trauma of the incident it is believed that Kannaki retreated into the forests bordering the Pandyan kingdom which is governed by the Chera king Cheran Chenguttuvan. Later after reconciling herself with the situation she moved to Kodungallur after spending 14 days on the hilltop and ascended into heaven at Lord Indra’s insistence.
Later on hearing about Kannaki the Chera King Cheran Chenkuttuvan and his royal family visit the hill and decide to build a temple for Kannagi. He brought huge Stones from the Himalayas to carve a statue of Kannaki and build a Temple as he believed Kannaki was Goddess Pattini (A Divine and Chaste spirit of the highest order) and dedicated a temple to her.
This temple, which is currently located inside the Periyar Tiger Sanctuary, has a large number of visitors on Chitra Pournami Day (5th May 2023) since visitors are allowed to enter the Mangaladevi temple only on that day. The Mangaladevi temple is around 15 kilometres from Kumily town. The journey is arduous and can be made from Kumily only by 4 wheel drive Jeeps with special permits to serve as taxis. Devotees can enter the temple from 6 am to 4 pm on the festival day.
This temple is located on a hill which is between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is a disputed area and therefore entry to the temple is allowed only in the presence of the Theni and Idukki District Collectors and Police Chiefs.
We therefore request all believers and lovers of nature to plan a trip to Kumily to visit the Temple and also enjoy the grandeur of nature on the path and back.
