Puthucode Gramam

Puthucode Gramam

Location : Palakkad District

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

Puducode (also spelled Puthucode and Puthukode) is a village and gram panchayat in Palakkad district  It is situated in Alathur taluk, around 12 km from Alathur and 4 km from Vadakkancherry, on the western bank of Mangalam River, a sub-tributary of Bharathapuzha.

This village is possibly the biggest and prosperous Brahmin village outside the Palakkad villages. It had about 500 houses arranged in four streets. The north and South streets were the earliest and came in to existence some 500 years back. In between these two streets is the Puthucode Bhagavati temple. This village was from the earliest times known as a village of Vedic scholars and musicians. One Rama Sastrigal is supposed to have taken out the idol from the temple tank and around this idol the Puducode Bhagawati temple was built. There is also a story that the idol was made in Trithalai and was brought by Vedic Brahmins chanting Vedas all the way. The idol though called Bhagawati was identified as Annapurneswari by some and Santha Durga by others. In her hand she carries a Shanka and Chakra instead of the ladle and pot normally carried by Annapurneswari idols. There is also a practice of the Brahmins of the village chanting Shyamala Dhandagam in front of the goddess. This prayer sings praise of Goddess Saraswati. The Iyers of the village gave the management of the temple to Naduvil madam (A Namboothiri Sankara Mutt) due to financial reasons, who were managing it till recently. Now the temple is managed by SAPCO an association of iyers belonging to the village founded in the year 1982. But recently the Cochin DEvasvam   has taken over  the management of the temple.

This temple also has a Ganapathi idol as well as a Bhuta Prathishta (called Visha Kavu) in which the Sarpa kavu as well as Sastha idols are also installed. There is a peculiar observation called Ayilu before this Bhuta Prathishta. This consists of burning two continuous bathing towels dipped in til oil before the Prathishta. The coal resulting out of the burning is taken as prasada.

There is also a Shiva temple in the village managed by the Iyers of the North Street. SAPCO has done commendable work in restoration of both temples and also their day-to-day management.

The major festival of the village is Navarathri. The first day festival is celebrated by the Otta Madams (meaning non attached houses) Second and seventh days are celebrated by the east street, third, fifth and eighth by the North street, fourth and sixth by the South street and the ninth by the west street. On sixth, seventh and eighth days there is a gala procession of the idol on caparisoned elephants accompanied by the Pancha Vadyam (musical orchestra in which five musical instruments are used). On the tenth day is the Arattu in which the idol is dipped in the village stream. Though the regular worship at the temple is performed by Iyers, during this festival the pooja is performed by Namboothiri Brahmins. Another peculiarity of the festival is the feast during Navarathri days when Puducode Pulungary and Olan are served daily. This Pulungari is not usually prepared in the iyer or nair houses and people believe that the taste of the pulungari is very great when prepared in the temple. There is a proverb that “after Puducode there is no Agraharam and after Pulungari there is no Kootan”. The other festival which is celebrated by the village is Shivarathri in the Shiva temple for 8 days.

   Maha Periyavaa   is supposed to have visited  the temple   and stayed  there  one month. Later  Swamy Jayendra  Saraswathi   of Kamakoti peetam    also visited the  temple.

        Puducode village   was also a great centre  of education in Sama Veda , where late  P.K.Gopala Vadhyar   who was   an expert in the THanjavur  method  of Chanting  Sama Veda  ,  lived.He was an expert in Kauthuma Tradition of chanting Sama Veda(Called Ramanna patam )    , though  this style of chanting  has almost  disappeared from its home Thanjavur.,.Howard university entrusted the  job of recording this unique method of chanting to one  L.S.Rajagopal of Trichur  .I understand that   the major part  of chanting of Sama Veda   by  Gopala Krishna Vadhyar   has  been preserved  in that university. The BHavan’s branch of Puthucode has also preserved   these  records. 

      At the initial stages   there was only a school run by one  Gopalakrishna Iyer  in the village   which used   to give education up to elementary level.  At that time to study up to high school  , students had  either to go to Alathur or Thiruvilvamala..Poor and middle class students  used to walk down to and fro while rich families used to hire a home and employ a cook so that  their children can study there .Later  a Sanskrit Pata Sala   called  “Hari Hara  Pathasala “ was established  by one  Justice Sundaram Iyer   who  was  from Puducode a  prominent  Madras High Court judge  during the early part of the 20thcentuary.  This was integrated  in to an English medium  higher secondary  school   with greater emphasis  on Sanskrit by  one Sri P.R. Narayana  iyer.This institution also became a Sanskrit College   in later days.

 Sarvajana High School is based in the village. It was built around 70 years ago in front of the West Nada of Sri Annapoorneswari temple and is itself fronted by another temple .Initially it was started only for girls education as the years passed by, the school expanded and started preparing pupils from the Nursery class up to X Standard. There is also a  School being run by  Bharathiya Vidhya bhavan  which follows   the CBSE   syllabus

      As indicated, this village was well known for its scholars and musicians. Some of the great musicians of the earlier times were Seshu Bhagavathar, Venkichu Bhagavathar, Seetharama Bhagavathar who served in the court of Cochin king, Visweswara Bhagavathar and Madhu Bhagavathar who was an expert in Veena. Among the present day greats is Puducode Krishnamurthy Bhagavathar. Among the Vedic pundits were Rama Vadhyar, Ananthanarayana Vadhyar, Rama Ganapadigal and Agni Sastrigal Deekshitar.  Also there is  P. C. Sreeram, a cinematographer in Indian cinema.