BEST PLACES TO SEE IN INDIA 5

Mangala Devi Kannagi

Mangala Devi Kannagi temple is a historic temple located in the Idukki district of Kerala bordering Tamil Nadu Cheran Chenguttuvan, the king of ancient Tamilakam, had erected the temple for Kannagiaround 2000 years back at  Kannagi Kottam' or 'Mangaladevi Kannagi temple' and performed regular pujas. It sits at an altitude of about 1,337 m (4,386 ft) above the mean sea level

 It is surrounded by lush greenery and is closed throughout the year except during the Chitra Pournami festival

Deep inside the forest of Periyar Tiger Reserve, you will find a 1000 years old ancient temple of Mangaladevi. This is the place, where, Kannaki, a legendary Tamil woman, betrayed all her grudge and transformed herself to be a divine lady (Mangaladevi) showering blessings upon the people on earth.

Hidden in the dense forest of Periyar Tiger Reserve, between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the Mangaladevi Temple at Thekkady is not just a place for pilgrimage tourism, but a place where you can find the wildness of the forest and the enchanting beauty of the nature. The temple is located 7 km away from Pazhiyankudi in Theni district and 15 km from Thekkady in Idukki district.

There is a mind boggling legend behind this divine temple of Mangaladevi. Kannagi, the devoted wife of Kovalan, took revenge against killing her innocent husband by accusing him as a thief. It is said that she burnt the whole Madurai city and later she reached the Suruli hills. From here she went to the heaven in Pushpaka Vimana along with Kovalan

Getting inspired from this story, Chera Chenguttuvan, the ancient Tamilakam King, erected this temple of Mangaladevi here. The story of Kannagi was narrated to the Tamil poet, Ilango Adigal by Chenguttuvan and later Ilango wrote the famous book 'Silappathikaram', the story of Kannagi and Kovalan.

The boundary walls and the steps leading to the temple are made up of huge stones. The location of the temple on the top of the hill itself proves the effort taken to complete the structure there. Apart from Mangala Devi you can also sight some other idols there. Entering the complex you can see the idol of Karuppasamy, on the left side there is Lord Shiva and you can also sight a sanctorum for Ganapathy too.