Kodikkunnu Bhagavathy Temple

Also called Kodikkunnu Ambalam, the Kodikkunnu Bhagavathy Temple is an ancient temple to the goddess Bhadrakali at Pallippuram, near Pattambi in Palakkad district, Kerala. The name means the temple on top of Kodi hill. Granite steps climb to entrances on the north, east and west; there is no southern gate. Inside, the goddess, called Amma, shares equal honour with Shiva, with Ganapathi to her left.

Legend makes Kodikkunnathamma one of the daughters of the goddess of the nearby Muthassiar Kavu. After a quarrel with a younger sister who settled at Kodungallur, the temples closed their doors on the side facing Kodungallur, which is why there is no south entrance. Another tale tells of a widow cut off by floods whose children were fed by an old woman bringing rice in a brass vessel later found missing from the sanctum. The main festival, Chirankara Pooram, brings dancers from each local desam, chenda melam, thayambaka, panchavadyam, decorated bullock effigies and fireworks, and a harvest festival, Kathiratta Vela, follows each year's harvest.