ABOUT

Mangaladevi Temple is a 1000-year-old temple inside the dense forests of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Made of huge pieces of granite, it stands at an altitude of 1337 m above the sea level. The temple is dedicated to the deity of Mangaladevi, who is also known as Kannaki. Even today, Kannaki remains as a symbol of the moral power that resides in an ordinary woman who is able to take on royalty because her cause is just. Legend has it that Kannaki burnt the town of Madurai down with a curse when she came to know that the royal court had killed her husband Kovilan after wrongly accusing him of theft. It is also believed that Kannaki reached the Periyar forests after burning Madurai. The temple construction is in line with that of Pandyan architecture though there are no definite records of the time of its construction. The locals believe that it was the Chera king, Chenkuttuvan, who created the temple. The idol installation ceremony was believed to have been attended by many prominent personalities including the Lankan king, Gajabahu. Though now in a dilapidated condition, the boundary walls and the steps leading to the temple still have huge stones which stand in testimony to its earlier days of glory. When considering the location of the temple, one can imagine the enormity of the effort that would have been involved in bringing the huge stones and granite pieces up to the mountain. As the temple of Mangala Devi is in ruins, the idol that is worshipped during the temple festival on the day of Chithra Pournami is usually brought from Kambam. It is made of panchaloha (five metals).