Chottanikkara temple legend part1||ചോറ്റാനിക്കര അമ്മയുടെ ഐതിഹ്യം Part 1.....

The lone traveler on this path at that time was Guptan Namboothiri of Kandarappilly illam, who was on his way to see a kathakali performance at the royal palace in Tripoonithura. Guptan was a young Brahmin in the prime of his youth. He hailed from a rich family near Chottanikara. He was an ardent devotee of Chottanikkara Amma.
Guptan’s teacher was an old Brahmin scholar who was an authority on various arts and sciences. He was a well known sorcerer too. His house was on the way to Tripoonithura. Guptan had borrowed a copy of the sacred text of Devibhagavatam from his teacher.
THe found a big flowering tree by the side of the path. Sitting underneath the tree he opened his pan box and prepared to have a luxurious session of pan.
As he was enjoying his rest, he noticed a sweet scent of pala flowers wafting to his nostrils. He looked around. In the dim shadows thrown by the moonlight he could make out a vague form that appeared as a woman dressed in white. Now he could make out that it was indeed a beautiful woman dressed in white set mundu .She said; “Thirumeni, I suppose you are headed to the palace to watch today’s kathakali. Shall I accompany you”. I am Ithooty Warassiar who used to serve you when you stayed at Piravom temple for bhajana. He said; “Of course I remember you very well, my dear Ithooty;Moreover I hardly expected to meet you at this place and that too at this time”. Now I am sure that we will have a good time tonight watching the performance together”. By and by, they reached the gate of his master’s residence. Asking his companion to wait at the gate he went inside to meet the respected teacher.In spite of the late hour the old scholar had not yet retired to sleep. He welcomed his old student affectionately and accepted the holy text from him. Then the learned old man said; “Look, Guptan, you have been fortunate so far tonight. It is not Ithooty warassiar who has followed you but it is a horrible yakshi who is out to drink your blood. She could not touch you so far because you had the holy Devibhagavatham in your hand”. Guptan could hardly believe his ears. Seeing his discomfiture the master said; “If you are not convinced, just stand close to me and have a look at your lady-friend, but after holding my hand for support”. In place of the slender, fair, beautiful woman, there now stood a terrible feminine creature of gigantic proportions.Shrieking with horror, he fell at the feet of his master and prayed for saving him from the impending calamity.The master consoled him as best as he could and said; “What you see before you is a blood thirsty yakshi. She is so powerful that even the best of sorcerers cannot subdue her. Only Chottanikkara amma can save you from this cruel creature. So run from here to Chottanikkara temple and pray for Devi’s protection. To save you till you reach Devi’s temple, I will give you my towel after making it potent with certain special powers. Do not lose this towel till you reach the temple. Once you are inside the walls of the temple, you would not need the towel anymore. So, throw it out. Chottanikkara amma will protect you thereafter”. The master then removed the small towel from his shoulder and gave it to Guptan, after chanting some magical verses which could empower the piece of cloth with certain special charms to keep away the evil yakshi temporarily.
At long last, it was almost dawn when he sighted the western gate of Chottanikkara temple. The yakshi had not given up and was still after him. In one last spurt he reached the threshold. The Yakshi seized on to this opportunity and caught on to his foot. She began pulling him out with all her might. To Guptan it appeared as if the end had come and he prayed with all devotion to Devi to save him.
At that time, inside the sreekovil, the head priest had just finished the morningAbhishekam and puja and had come out. Devi had reached the gate where the yakshi was pulling out the poor, terrified Guptan. With one stroke of her glittering sword, Chottanikkara amma cut the yakshi into two pieces and with her left hand threw both pieces to a far away pond located on the southern side of the temple. After eliminating the evil yakshi, the Devi blessed Guptan and returned to thesreekovil. The devotees and the head priest, who had witnessed the strange happenings, had still not recovered from their shock. They were still looking at each other in wonder and amazement as if seeking an answer to the mysterious occurrence. Suddenly the head priest heard a clear divine voice from the sreekovil instructing him to carry out one more abhishekam and to change the robes. On going inside to carry out the divine instructions, the priest was surprised to see blood stains on Devi’s robes.Even now, at Chottanikkara temple, two abhishekams are performed everyday. This practice is said to be in deference to Devi’s instructions on the day the yakshi was killed