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Chirayinkeezhu, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala · 8.6540°, 76.7860°
A Bhadrakali temple in Chirayinkeezhu that became one of South India's best-known goddess shrines after Marthanda Varma instituted its Kaliyoot festival in 1748. The nine-day Kaliyoot enacts the birth of Bhadrakali and her fight with the demon Darika, and the Ponnara family still oversees the festival.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
Marthanda Varma is said to have vowed the Kaliyoot to the goddess if she granted him victory over Kayamkulam, and to have kept the promise after winning the war.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Undetermined
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…