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Sri Visalakshi Sametha Sri Viswanathaswamy temple(), popularly known as ''Kasi Viswanathaswamy Temple'' or locally as ''kundukovil'' is a famous Hindu temple located in the Kalpathy village of Palakkad in Kerala, India. It is the site of the annual Kalpathi Ratholsavam which is one of the most famous temple festivals of Kerala. This ancient temple nestles by the banks of the serene Kalpathy river (''Nila Nadhi''). Dedicated to Lord Siva and his consort Visalakshi (another name for Parvati), it dates back to early fifteenth century. The similarity to the Varanasi Kashi Viswanatha temple on the banks of Ganges is responsible for the moniker ''kasiyil pakuthi kalpathy'' and the name ''Dakshina Kashi'' associated with this temple. The Temple is surrounded by the four Tamil Brahmin ''agraharams'' or traditional villages: New Kalpathy, Old Kalpathy, Chathapuram and Govindarajapuram. ==Antiquity and history== There is a mention of this temple in the Sewel’s list of the Antiquarian Remains in the Madras Presidency at page 253 of Volume I. It shows that the Temple was consecrated in the Kollam year 640 (1464 AD). Volume II of the same book shows that the temple was founded in 1464 AD. Mr. Logan in his Malabar Manual, Volume II, Appendix III, page 126, states that an endowment to the temple was made in the Malayalam year 640 (1464 AD). However, there is an inscription in ''kolezhuthu'' on a stone slab placed in front of the temple between the flag staff and the Nandi Mandapam, outside the temple, but within the temple courtyard. This inscription records some endowments made by one Ittikombi Achan, member of the Royal family of Palakkad in Malayalam Era 600 (AD ). Evidently the temple must have been founded earlier than that. The villagers, however, claim that the temple was consecrated at the instance of one Lakshmi Ammal, a Brahmin wife of Venkitanarayanaiyer of Kollengode,. They are reported to have brought the Siva Lingam from Kasi (Varanasi) during one of her visits to that holy place and desired to construct a temple and instal the Lingam. This lingam is unique and has the characrestics of Vysya or business community On reaching Kalpathy, she along with her husband and with the help of the then King of Palakkad Installed the Siva Lingam in Kalpathy and the idol is very powerful in blessing all, by showering all prosperities especially to Business community. The temple is on the banks of Nila River. Villagers believe that she approached the then Raja (Prince) of Palakkad with this request, who had readily agreed and constructed the temple. It is also said that Lakshmi Ammal had given the Prince 1320 gold coins and entrusted him with the responsibility of managing the temple affairs. A record to this effect kept on the palm leaves is believed to have been lost during the time of one Somasundara Kurukkal, who was the priest of the temple at that time. According to depositions by Sri Somasundara Kurukkal, it is believed that the Prince who Lakshmi Ammal approached was Ittilkombi Achan. Sri Somasundara Kurukkal has also confirmed that the Prince had entrusted the management of the temple to his descendants belonging to the ''Valia Konikkal Madom''. The Prince had also donated land for the upkeep and maintenance of the temple. The lands set apart for this temple came to be made ''inam'' or revenue-free by him and this was allowed to be continued as revenue free by the subsequent rulers, Tipu Sultan and later by the British Government. Even today the management of the temple continues to be in the hands of the Trustee, a descendent of the erstwhile princely family. Lakshmi Ammal also constructed three other temples in nearby Kollengode, Koduvayur and Pokkunni. Naturally she installed lingams brought from Varanasi . They are Brahmin ( in kollengode) Ksahtriya ( Koduvayur) Sudra ( Pokkunni in Kollengode). The land reforms of the Government of recent times had deprived the temple of the income from these lands. The Temple at present is being run by the offerings of the devotees and vazhipadu collections. The first face of the inscription on the granite slab in front of the Temple contains the details of the lands given as gift to the temple with the four boundaries thereof. The agraharam sites of the four streets of Old Kalpathy, New Kalpathy, Chathapuram and Govindarajapuram are all included within the boundaries of the lands given, as described in the stone inscription. It is clear from this that the Brahmin houses in the four agraharams were in existence on the date of the gift mentioned in the stone inscription. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Viswanatha Swamy Temple, Palakkad」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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