Mullakkal Rajarajeshwari Temple

Mullakkal Rajarajeshwari Temple is a Hindu temple in Alappuzha, Kerala. The temple is also known as the Mullakkal Bhagwati Temple.The temple was designed and built in the old Kerala style. The temple grounds is filled with jasmine plants, after which the place may have been named, since ‘mullai’ in Tamil and ‘mulla’ in Malayalam mean jasmine.The idol in the inner shrine is that of the goddess Durga.The temple is nearly 500 years old and the sanctum sanctorum or inner shrine has an open roof.

History
According to one story the idol of the goddess was brought there by a group of exiled soldiers from Thekkumkur territory.They placed the idol in a jasmine garden. Later a temple was constructed in the jasmine garden by King Devanarayana of Chembagasery. Another story says that upon seeing the goddess at the Kodungalloor Bhagavathy temple, king Devanarayana of Chembagasery desired to bring the goddess back to his kingdom. That very night, the goddess appeared before him in his dreams and announced that she would indeed accompany him back to his kingdom. When he arrived in Alappuzha, the king decided to rest in a jasmine garden and put his umbrella down. When he awoke he could not move the umbrella. He took it as a sign that the goddess wished to remain there and built a temple for here there in the jasmine garden.

Yet another popular story says that during the conquest of Kerala by Tippu Sultan of Mysore, a group of Namboodiri Brahmins escaped from Malabar taking the idol of Annapurneshwari with them. They spotted a jasmine garden and decided to place the idol there and built a shrine there. The temple was later built around the shrine.

Prior to 1961, the idol placed in the inner shrine was that of Annapurneshwari, who had a ladle in one hand and a pot in the other.

In 1961 however the original idol was replaced. It is said that a stranger entered the sanctum sanctorum and embraced the idol after which several cracks were observed on the idol. The priests took it to mean that the goddess was instructing them to make a new idol.And so on 16 July 1962 a new idol, that of Rajarajeshwari, was placed in the inner sanctum, replacing the old one. Later the idols of Krishna and various serpent gods were introduced and placed in different shrines.

Mullakkal Chirappu, Navarathri festival and Bommai Kalu Festival are celebrated with great grandeur in the Mullakkal Bhagawthy temple.