AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Varikoli Shree Chuzhali Bagavathi Temple is a village shrine in Puliyanambram, near Peringathur in Kannur district, Kerala, dedicated to the fierce mother goddess Chuzhali Bhagavathy — a local manifestation of Durga who is believed to have arrived on Kerala's Malabar coast by wooden boat from the far north. Revered by locals as the pride of their hamlet, the temple is open around the clock and draws an evening crowd for worship, with its highlight being the Thira Maholsavam (Theyyam festival) held each April.↗↗
The Goddess and Her Legend
Chuzhali Bhagavathy takes her name from the Chuzhali Swaroopam, one of the small kingdoms that existed under the larger Kola (Mushika) dynasty in ancient North Kerala. She is venerated as the clan deity of that territory, and her story is one of the most vivid legends in Malabar temple tradition.↗
According to the myth, the power of Goddess Durga entered the body of an Aryan (northern Indian) princess while she was bathing in a river. The goddess longed to see the green hills and rivers of Malanad (the Kerala highlands). A magnificent wooden boat was built, and three radiant divine forms rose from the princess's body and boarded it. The unmanned vessel traveled across the sea past Gokarna, Kumbala, and Ezhimala before reaching the coast near Cherukunnu, where local rulers discovered three sacred idols waiting aboard.
