Kalpathy Sri Viswanathaswamy Temple

 
The temple is  constructed on the banks of Nila River. The temple is situated at the bottom of eighteen steps leading from the eastern Gopuram. In the south-west direction of the temple is situated the temple of Sri Lakshminarayana  of old Kalpathy village and Prasanna Maha Ganapathy of Chathapuram village, in the east the Kshipra prasada Maha Ganapathi temple of Pandhrandaam Teruvu and the Manthakara Maha Ganapathi temple of New Kalpathy village and in the east-west direction Sri Varadaraja Perumal of Govindarajapuram village.  In the eastern direction,  at a distance of a kilometer,  is located the Chokkanathar temple of Chokkanathapuram village.

The eight sides of the prakaram(corridor)  inside the temple belong to Indra, Agni, Yama, Niruthi, Varuna, Vayu, Kubera, and Eesanan. Poojas in temples are of two types that areaathmartham and parartham.
An aged lady named Lakshmi Ammal resided in Kalpathy long ago. It is said that she lived there alone, while the rest of her family was in Mayiladuthurai. As she wanted to build a temple for Lord Shiva, she visited Kashi (Varanasi) and brought a Bana linga from there and installed it in Kalpathy. Later, a temple was built there by the then ruler of the region

The annual Kalpathy Ratholsavam celebrated during November is the most famous temple festival celebrated here, it lasts for seven days. On the last three days, beautifully decorated temple chariots are ceremoniously drawn through the streets by thousands of devotees whose soul stirring chants rent the air.The festival is dominated by three magnificent chariots, bedecked with flowers and flags, each sanctified by the presence of the lord.Teeming crowds of people and millions of hands try to reach out to be one of the privileged to have the honour of pulling the chariots, as they proceed in stately grandeur.

Getting there
Nearest railway station: Palakkad Railway Station, about 2 km
Nearest airport: Cochin International Airport, about 111 km
Google map coordinates: QJVX+W4 Palakkad, Kerala