PATHANAMTHITTA: When villagers of Edappara lose their valuables or somebody steals their items, they soon go to the village temple to offer prayers to get the items back. The presiding deity at the temple in Edappara village in Kozhencherry is none other than Kayamkulam Kochunni, the legendary thief who is also known as the Robin Hood of Kerala.
The villagers believe that they will get their lost or stolen things back if they offer candles to Kayamkulam Kochunni. The shrine is a part of Edappara Maladevar Nada temple in Malappuzhassery grama panchayat in Pathanamthitta. People from various districts reach here to worship Kochunni and seek his blessings.
A villager of Edappara, 68-year-old Thankamani, said that she has been witnessing the worship of the deity of Kayamkulam Kochunni in her village from her childhood days.
“All villagers first go to Kochunni’s shrine when they miss any of their belongings or if anything is stolen. Our villagers believe that if we offer a candle to him, we will get back the lost thing soon. Villagers testify that they got their missed things after offering prayers, and people who came to know about it reach here from far away places and worship the deity,” she said.
Thankamma, 66, another resident of the village, said that people from all religions keep coming to Kochunni temple. “Though Edappara Maladevar Nada temple opens on the first day of every Malayalam month, people keep coming every day to worship Kochunni. After the release of the movie ‘Kayamkulam Kochunni,’ the number of people arriving here has increased a lot,” she said.
K K Podiyan, 94, who was a former member of the administrative body of the temple, shared an interesting legend regarding the worship of Kochunni.
“The ‘Oorali’ of Edappara temple used to go to various places to exorcise devils and end their fear. Once while he was returning from Kayamkulam to Edappara after watching Padayani, he met a man, who was hanging upside down from a tree. Then ‘Oorali’ asked him who he was. The man said he was Kayamkulam Kochunni and that he was wandering without a resting place.
Then the ‘Oorali’ asked him to accompany him to Edappara. Thus Kochunni’s soul accompanied ‘Oorali’ to Edappara. The ‘Oorali’ made him a deity in front of the Maladevar temple at Edappara. Earlier, the shrine of Kochunni was under a tree at the temple. Later, it was relocated to the present spot near a field,” he said.
Secretary of the temple A P Anandan said that many famous personalities, including actors, have visited the temple.
“The shooting of the movie ‘Kayamkulam Kochunni’ was also held at the temple. Vishu is the main festival time of the temple. The temple is open to devotees on the first day of every Malayalam month. Besides, the temple is also open to devotees on special occasions,” he said. The temple is located 2 km west of Karamveli Junction on Tiruvalla-Kozhencherry Road.
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