Kootala Dharma Daiva
Sree Bhagavathi Kshetram

The story of the Kootala lineage is inseparable from the turbulent history of 18th-century Kerala. Under the Kozhikode Zamorin dynasty, the region was organized into proud principalities — Eranad, Valluvanad, and Kadathanad among them. Our ancestors were members of the Nayaka Sabha, serving under the revered Azhvancheri Thamprakal of the Eranad kingdom — guardians of faith, tradition, and the sacred order of their land.

In 1718, Mysorean forces swept into Kerala, conquering principalities and bringing great hardship upon the Nair community. Faced with profound upheaval, many families were compelled to leave their ancestral lands in search of safety. During the second campaign of 1778, the Azhvancheri Thamprakal, seeking to protect their Nairs and temple communities, entrusted their people to trusted local leaders — dispersing families across Thiruvalla, Peringottukurissi, Palakkad, and the banks of the Triprayar River.

It was Vakayil Kaimal — the custodian of the Triprayar temple and its associated shrines — who extended his protection to the group that would become our ancestors. Under his care, two women journeyed from the north, carrying two sacred stones that had been objects of their family worship. On the lands of the Kannankulam Devaswom and Ayilur Devaswom, they were given shelter, land, and the means to continue their sacred traditions. It is from this courageous journey — two women, two sacred stones, and an unbreakable faith — that the roots of the Kootala Dharma Daiva Sree Bhagavathi Kshetram are believed to spring. Our recorded lineage of grandmothers traces back to 1870, a living thread connecting us to that founding act of devotion.

The Sacred Entrance · Kaipamangalam, Thrissur