Sree Bhuvaneswary Temple, Valamchuzhy - Location

Location

The temple is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the city centre. Sree Bhuvaneswary Temple is surrounded by the sacred river Achankovil, which has its origin in the Achankovil mountain ranges. The name "Valamchuzy" is derived from the fact that the river circumvents the temple on three sides. Due to the action of the river over the past 3,000 years, large tracts of land belonging to the temple have been washed away. The temple presently is well protected from floods. Formerly this area was under dense forests, and remnants can still be seen in the Sarpakavu (sacred serpent grove). The Sarpakavu is home to a large variety of rare medicinal herbs. Illegal sand mining from the river is posing a danger to the Sarpakavu.

As elsewhere, the great floods of 1096 had repercussions in Pathanamthitta, and they caused severe damage to the temple. However, after the floods had receded a lot of reclamation and maintenance work was undertaken by the temple authorities with the active participation of the government and the landlords near the temple. A bund was constructed to make access to the Sree Bhuvaneswary Temple easier.

The temple continued to be under the patronage of the Velluvettuvelil Madam family until 1974. They served as the priests. Later on, the temple administration passed to the senior members of the 14 Karas hailing from Pathanamthitta municipality, Pramadam, and Mylapra Panchayats. A Devasom council and a team of 14 executives are elected every two years from these 14 Karas. The administration is on the lines of the Indian Parliament.