Kerala, one of the most important coastal states situated in South India has a lot of things to offer to domestic and international tourists. You would get a lot of things to see and places to visit in Kerala and its outskirts. Large number of tourists from different parts of India and the world visit Kerala to enjoy their vacations with families. You may go with your families to Cochin , the port city, may enjoy a day or two in the bird sanctuary, may enjoy the natural beauty of islands or may pay a visit to the religious places. There are lot of religious sites in Kerala and its surrounding area. One of the most popular religious places in Kerala is the Chottanikara Temple.

Situated near Ernakulam in Kerala the Chottanikkara Temple enshrines mother Goddess Bhagwati, one of the most popular deities in the region. In Chottanikkara Temple Goddess Bhagwati is worshiped in different forms in different times in a day. In the morning she is worshipped as Saraswati (Goddess of education)and is draped in white, during noon she is worshipped as Bhadrakali and is draped in crimson and in the evening Goddess Durga is worshiped here and is draped in blue. It is the belief of local people for ages that Goddess Rajrajeshwari (another form of Bhagwati) cures her devotees and so lot of local devotees pay her visit and seek refuge from mental illness. Most of the devotees who pay visit to the Goddess belong to the lower class. Though it cannot be said that whether the patients coming to the temple are cured by any sort of spirit or the psychological faith on the Goddess or the environment within the temple but is is true that many people get cured after paying visit to the Goddess. The priest of Chottanikkara Temple engages the patients in a special type of conversation and orders the evil spirit to get out of the body of the patient. An iron nail is driven into the wooden pillar in the temple which signifies that the evil spirit would remain immobile inside the temple. For ages people have been believing in this practice.

An annual festival is celebrated in Chottanikkara Temple every year during February and March, which is considered in Hindu astrology as the month of Kumbha or Aquarius. Huge crowd gathers in the temple during the festival.

You may or may not believe in the particular religion but don't miss the Chottanikkara Temple once you are in Kerala.

Click on cheapflightstocochin.com for further information on the tourist spots near Cochin.