Koduvayur - Part 2 - 100 Agraharams Project 

Koduvayur - Part 2 - 100 Agraharams Project
I tried and could never find the origin of the word Koduvayur. Also I wondered why this place is called Keralapuram. There is another place with this name in Kollam district.
"Koduvayur was one of the 18 asmams that composed the Cheranad division of the colonial era Ernad Taluk, directly ruled by the Zamorin of Calicut." "The Samoothiri, also known as the Zamorin, was the title of the hereditary ruler of the Kingdom of Calicut in the South Malabar region of India. I understand that the Palghat Raja / Achan were vassals of the Samoothiri."
William Logan in his Malabar Manual records:
"And he (Samoory) possessed himself of the more full and immediate sovereignty over the three Nayarships of Colemgoor (Kollengode), Codovoura or Koorwye (Koduvayur) and Mungary (Mankara), originally a part of the Palghaut (Palghat) country" I read that Itta Punga Achan of Palghat, and the district was leased to him on June 12, 1792 for one year for a sum of Rs. 80,000."
In his blog Historicalleys - Maddy writes: "Palghat was unfortunately or fortunately in the paths of hungry people, greedy traders, marauders preying on them, fugitives and of course travelers. On the Tamil side were weavers, grain and gem traders, and on the other side the Kingdoms of Cochin and Calicut, vying to maximize the spice trade with the Arabs and the Chinese. The flow of goods and wealth was always through the Palghat country and the strategic location as a wedge in the middle of them all made Palghat a veritable battlefield on many occasions.."
“A major landmark in the history of the temple is the invasion by the forces of Tippu Sultan. The legend current here is that the temple was levelled to the ground and the idols were thrown into the nearby tanks, except the idol of Sree Viswanatha. Of the missing idols the most important one was that of Sree Visalakshi. As it was not possible to locate the idol of Goddess Visaläkshi during the renovation of the temple, a new idol of Goddess Meenäkshi was installed. The story goes that after a lapse of some days, on one night a Kutukita-pandi rushed to the temple loudly uttering 'Mother is lying starving in the tank. Why not my children take me and give me food?' Soon he disappeared.
These words prompted the authorities to have a fresh search for the missing Sree Visalakshi idol. To their great astonishment they got the idol from a neighbouring tank. Immediately after the usual purification rites they installed this idol on the right side of the Sree Viswanatha idol. But the Goddess was not pleased with the seat given to Her.
The aftermath of this consecration was that the whole street in front of the temple went into ablaze and residents were stricken with smallpox. A prasna, which followed, revealed that the position of the Goddess should be at the rear of the Lord. Thereafter she was installed at the rear of the Lord and Sree Madura Meenakshi was installed in a separate shrine at the northwest, facing south. The houses destroyed by fire were rebuilt.“
S.Jayashanker Temples of Palakkad District
In Part 2 the initial part of the video focuses on the Gokula street and its origins. The second half is a delightful delivery of the rituals, the past and the festivals narrated by Sri Venkiteshwara Deekshidar
Radhe Krishna
Sriram(Hari)
100-Agraharams Project
Rama Bhagavathar Charitable Trust
August 2, 2024