On the banks of river Kalpathy, there stands a beautiful ancient temple dedicated to Lord Viswanathan or Lord Shiva. The temple is around 700 years old. Kalpathy being the traditional village of Tamil Brahmin settlement, one can see several agraharams near the temple premises. All the rituals in the temple are conducted according to Tamil customs and traditions. The ten-day-long Kalpathy Ratholsavam is the annual festival of the temple that takes place in November. It is the largest chariot festival in all of Kerala.
During the festival, the small streets of Kalpathy are filled with thousands of devotees gathered around to witness the decorated chariots moving along the roadways with dances and other celebrations behind. The chariot processions are often accompanied by Vedic rituals, enchantments and other cultural programmes. These enormous chariots or temple cars are embellished with glassworks, myriad kinds of flowers, fruits and so on. In all years, the decorations of the chariots are done by a family named Panickers, which is indeed a part of the tradition.
During the festive days, the District Tourism Promotion Council of Palakkad arranges Kalpathy Carnatic Music Fest for the thousands of devotees to enjoy and immerse in the world of classical music and rhythms. The last three days of the Ratholsavam festival are the most important, as the chariot procession takes place on these days. Three huge ornate chariots are being taken out of the Lord Viswanatha temple and the remaining three are from the neighbouring temples. Men and women are seen pulling the colourful chariots with excitement and thrill. All the visitors were happy and rejoiced at this unusual sight.
The temple is locally called as Kundukkul Kovil as it has 18 steps downwards from the ground to the East and South. The temple is often referred to as Half-Kashi as one can perform required rituals for the deceased ones. The shrine of Lord Nataraja is worshipped in the Golden Hall of the temple, Kanaka Sabha. When Lord Shiva is worshipped in the temple as Lord Viswanatha, his beloved wife Goddess Parvati is worshipped as Vishalakshmi. A trip to Kalpathy temple is a distant and variant experience as it has a Tamil blend of rituals and Tamil vibe prevailing around, which is quite different from the other temples and places in Kerala.
Contact Details
Sri Viswanathaswamy Temple
Chathapuram, Kalpathy,
Palakkad, Kerala 678003
