Kaja Pettai Cholapuri amman

Kaja Pettai  Cholapuri amman

By

P.R.Ramachander

    In Trichy  town, there  was an army camp.  Soldiers in that  camp used  to worship a  goddess  inside their regiment. When  it was decided to shift the regiment   they gave the goddess  to two of their civilan friends, one of whom was a Hindu and another was a  Jain. Since the goddess   came from Cholapuri(Sholapur?), they ma,ed her as Cholapuri ammam and  consecrated her in a thatched hut. Slowly people around the temple became her great devotees and it has now grown to a temple    with a big tower facing east . As soon as you enter the temple through the tower, on the left you see  Pillayar and on the right   Bala Muruga(  Subrahmanya as a boy) . The Goddess is in a sitting position. There is also a Hanuman temple inside this main temple. Apart from this devotees have also consecrated Nagar besides the Nava Grahas along with their consorts.

    Since people of all communities and castes visit her  , you can gauge   the popularity of the Goddess.  Navarathri and Adi pooram is celebrated  in a grand way in the temple. During Adi pooram day , the Goddess is decorated    with bangles  which are later distributed to the devotees.

     The annual festival lasts for six  days. On the third day of festival , people take  Kavadi before the Amman.Eleven people who dress like Kali    also carry   fire  Kavadi.

  Her devotees belief if they approach the Goddess   she would remove all her problems.The temple is 2 km away from Trichy main bus stand in a locality called  Kaja pettai  The  temple is open between 5.30 Am to 9 Am and 5.30 Pm to 9 Pm