Sri Emoor Bhagavathy Temple
It is believed that four Ambika temples – Goddess Balambika at Kanyakumari, Goddess Lokambika at Loakanarkavu near Vadakara, Goddess Mookambika at Mangaluru and Goddess Hemambika at Palakkad were consecrated by Parashurama for the safety of Kerala, the land he reclaimed from the sea.
The legend says that Kurur and Kaimukku Nampoothiris used to visit this holey place daily for worship, crossing the protected tempestuous mountains tracks on naked feet. Years passed on without any change in their daily routine. One day while returning home after worship, due to the vagaries of old age, they were forced to take rest under a tree. An old woman appeared before them and gave them some sweet fruits which they gladly accepted. They were suddenly relived of their fatigue and felt surprisingly refreshed. These two ardent devotees on their journey next day, reached near the tree to find a huge elephant standing before them. Beside the elephant they had the ‘Darshan’ of the golden colored Goddess. From that day onwards, they started worshipping the Goddess under the tree. Kurur was incapacitated by old age and found it difficult to carry out the daily routine of worship in the mountain. One night, Goddess papered before him in his dream and consoled him that she will be seen in the pond near his house and can worship her there. Early next morning the radiant devotees rushed towards the pond and found two beautiful hands coming out of water in the middle of the lake. Kurur, on his excitement, jumped into the pond, swam to the center and caught of hold of the hands. Immediately, the hands turned into stone, becomes stationary. The Kallekulangara, where the temple is situated, derives its name from this incident. With the help of the friend Kaimukku Kuru worshipped the hands. The present temple was constructed by filling the lake around those divine hands. The Five Ponds surrounding the temple amply prove that the temple was constructed on the land reclaimed from the lake. Kurur instructed the local ruler, Shekhari Verma Valiya Raja of Palakkad for commencing the work of constructing the temple.
The Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday are the most auspicious days here. It is presumed that the Deity appears as Saraswathy Devi in the dawn, Lakshmi Devi at noon and Sree Devidurga at dusk and combination of Pooja is conducted with an assumption of the distinctive Bhava Swaroopa of the Goddess.
There is the snippet about this temple. It seems the former Prime Minister of India, Indra Gandhi visited this temple after the Congress split along with Sri Karunakaran. She was impressed by the goddess and made the palm of the goddess as her election symbol.
Location
Akathethara
Main Deity
Goddess Hemambika
Other Deities
Lord Shiva, Lord Aiyappa, Lord Ganapathy, Lord Maha Vishnu, Nagas, Anthi Mahakalan & Lord Murugan
Festivals
Dassara, Shivarathri, Mandala Pooja, Easwaraseva.
Main Offerings
Naivilakku (Ghee lamp), Kalabham (Sandal paste), Chathussatham, Naipayasam.
How To Reach
By Air: Calicut International Airport is the nearest airport situated at 106KMs from the temple.
By Rail: Olavakkod Railway Station is 7.5KMs from the temple.
By Road: Malampuzha KSRTC bus station is 7.6KMs from the temple.