| Paramekkavu
temple is one of the two major temples that run this whole exhibition
of devotion and grandeur. It is the amiable enmity between the
temples of Thiruvambadi and Paramekkavu that steals the show.
Thrissur Pooram, in a nutshell, is the paying obeisance of Paramekkavu
Bhagavathi to Lord Vadakkunnathan along with the two deities
of Thiruvambadi Temple and other minor deities of the suburban
temples.
Paramekkavu Bhagvathi
is the deity of this temple. The Pooram celebration begins
here at 1.00 p.m. on the Pooram day when the procession carrying
Devi assembles at the temple. This is where the renowned ‘Palachottil
melom,’ a percussion orchestra in lines with Pandimelom
is exhibited.
At 2.30 p.m. the procession with Pandimelom
enters Thekkinkadu maidan and proceeds to Vadakkunnathan temple
through east gopuram.
As the echoes of this grand melom recesses
in the vibrating atmosphere the procession moves towards south
gopuram for the magnificent expression of "koodikkazcha"
and "Kudamattom". Then the Bhagvathi returns to
the temple.
The next occasion when Paramekkavu Bhagvathi
blesses her devotees with her blessings is at ‘Palachottil
ezhunnallippu’. The procession passes through the south
round and concludes at ‘Manikandanal’ where the
procession is reduced to a lone elephant.
The fascinating fireworks catch the
eyes and ears for the next 3 hours.
When this magnificent display of colour,
light and explosives are over the procession is augmented
to fifteen elephants at 8.00 a.m. It enters Thekkinkadu maidan
and a formation takes place at Sreemulasthan. It is the time
for enjoying the grandesque Pandimelom. Then the procession
moves towards the west gopuram.
At 12 noon, an auspicious moment
itself, Paramekkavu Bhagavathi along with her other counterparts
Thiruvambadi Krishna and Bhagvathi pay obeisance to Lord Vadakkkunnathan.
She returns to her abode with the intention of visiting him
in the coming year.
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