| Edava Palakkavu Bhagavathi Temple | |
|---|---|
ഇടവാ പാലക്കാവ് ഭഗവതി ക്ഷേത്രം | |
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Deity | Palakkavilamma (Goddess Bhadrakali) |
| Festivals | Karthika Thirunal Mahothsavam (On karthika naksatra in kumbham month) |
| Location | |
| Location | Edava |
| State | Kerala |
| Country | India |
  Location of Palakkavu temple | |
| Geographic coordinates | 8°45′54″N 76°41′22″E / 8.76500°N 76.68944°E |
| Website | |
| http://www.palakkavudevi.in/ | |
The Edava Palakkavu Bhagavathi temple (ഇടവാ പാലക്കാവ് ഭഗവതി ക്ഷേത്രം) is one of the ancient temples in south India.[citation needed] It is situated at Edava in Thiruvananthapuram District, India. The temple is situated 5.7km North of Varkala City.Bhadrakali Devi is the presiding deity of this temple.[1]
A festival is conducted during the month of "Kumbham". This is an occasion when the entire village, irrespective of religious differences, erupt in festive mood. The streets are made colourful on the festival days with colourful processions. Tender coconut fronds and plantain leaf-stalks are also used for street decoration.
The Goddess Bhadrakali is the main deity in this temple. One important aspect of the temple is that the deity appears as Bhadrakali, an avatar of Palakkavilamma. Karthika is considered as the star of the deity. There are many upadevathas (sub-deities) adjacent to the temple, and it has been remade according to the Deva Prashnam by expert astrologers recently. The main upadevathas on the premises are
The Karthika Thirunal Mahothsavam, the major festival of the temple, is held in karthika naskathra in the Malayalam month of Kumbham, lasts for 10 days and ends with Ghosayathra (procession) and Ezhunnallathu (procession). Ten days of festival starts with many cultural and traditional programs in subsequent days. The main attractions of this festival are Thrikodiyettu, Ahaspooja, Sreebhoothabali, Uthsavabali, kalamzhuthum pattum, Thottam pattu, Ponkkala, Pallivetta, Ghosayathra, Aarattu, Thookapayattu, Garudanparappu and thrikodiyirakku. In 2014, Karthika Thirunal Mahothsavam was from 26 February to 7 March.
