CHENGANNUR - BHAGAWATI TEMPLE

Satisfied at this unexpected fortune. Agasthya moved anon to the South, humbling the Vindhyas on his way and settled down at Sonadri, being the ideal, sequestered spot for meditation and ascetic life. And this Sonadri, if translated into Malayalam, becomes Chenukunni, and if 'oor' is added to indicate town, it turns out Chenkunnur - its corrupt form being Chengannur perched in records and popular in common parlance.

As promised, Lord Parameswar visited with Parvathi at his asram and blessed him for doing that Jagadodharanakarya. While staving there, Parvathi had her menses. The divine couple, therefore, dwelt there till the purificatory bath. To keep this rare occurrence alive in memory; a temple was built later and a Sivalinga of Lord Parameswar and a panchaloha icon of Mother Paryathi were installed in two separate independent shrines, lying one behind the other, and worshipped with reverence due. To mark this event, Triputtu Arattu - Purificatory bathing ceremony is being conducted every month regularly since then. On account of the occurrence of this event here, strange to observe that the same panchaloha vigrah representing her figure has been menstruating even today. So the tradition of conducting Triputtu Arattu ritual is going on with great reverence.

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