Chellakara

Sree Lakshmi Narasimhamoorthy Temple, Chellakara

The temple of Sree Narasimhamoorthy Swamy, chelakkara, who rewarded sree prahalada for his ardent devotion, stands in all its glory in the very heart of chelakkara gramam. There are no precise details as to when it was constructed and consecrated but suffice it to say that it is a much venerated and ancient temple.

It is believed that the installation of lord narasimhamoorthy was done by a 'swamy' (a 'yatheeswaran 'who is a disciple of the sankaracharya) about 1200 years ago. Lore has it that he brought the idol and installed atthe present site. Be as it as may, the presiding deity in his benevolence showers his blessings on all those who worship him devotedly. Besides lord narasimhamoorthy, lord ganapathy and lord ayyappa are also worshipped at this temple and devotees throng during festival days. Ganapathy homam is performed daily at this temple and it is believed that this is being done ever since the temple was built. The major celebration of the temple is the 'navarathri' festival extending up to dwadasi day, ie. 12 days of festivities. As per the traditions followed by earlier generations, groups of families who were/are residing in chelakkara gramam conduct the functions in a fitting manner. 11 days are celebrated by the groups and the 12th day is known as 'dwadashi vilakku' or 'kuttikal vilakku' is the most famous of the 12 days.

History

The available records indicate that this temple originally belonged to palakkad, perada namboothiri illams from whom the ownership came to be transferred to the incumbents, viz: kaipanchery mana and manithara mana.

Due to the land reforms act of the Govt.of Kerala, lands belonging to the present owners were taken over by the tenants and therefore, the only means for the expenses for maintaining the temple was also lost. Without any other resourses at their command, the owners were finding it extremely difficult even to perform the daily rituals of the temple. It was at this juncture when the brahmana samooham conveyed their readiness to take over the temple and run it properly, the owners readily agreed to the proposal.

This 300 years is a long time by any reckoning.the vagaries of weather having taken its tollover a long period of time, the temple needed extensive repairs. A committee was formed under the auspices of the brahmana samooham and with the blessings of his holiness jagatguru sri jayendra saraswathi swamigal of kanchi kamakoti mutt, who visited the temple in 1971, it was possible t conduct jeernodharanam (rennovation) and maha kumbhabhishekam of the temple on 27.1.1972 solely from funds collected from devoted public. In 1976 a trust, by the name' chelakkara sree narasimhamoorthy swamy trust' was formed and the trustees took over the day-to-day running of the temple,its maintennance and supervision of the daily rituals.

Their official website is [http://www.sreenarasimhatemple.org www.sreenarasimhatemple.org]

Temple worshipping hours Morning Normal days : 5.00 - 9.15 am

On Mahaganapathy homam days: 3.00 - 9.15 am

Evening

5.00 pm - 7.45 pm

How to reach

By train

step down in Shoranur junction (14 km) or Wadakkanchery (15 km)or Thrissur(34km)

By bus

From thrissur: Thrissur - thiruvillwamala busThrissur - elanadu busThrissur - mayannur bus

From shoranur:Shoranur - chelakkara via painkulamShoranur - chelakkara via panjal

From wadakkanchery:Thrissur - thiruvillwamala busThrissur - elanadu busThrissur - mayannur bus

from palakkad:palakkad - alathur - pazhayannur -chelakkarapalakkad - lakkidi koottupatha-thiruvillwamala-chelakkara

05:13, 2 October 2008 (UTC)