Thalayapooru Devi Temple (à ´¤à ´²à ´¯à ´¾à ´ªà µÂà ´ªà µÂà ´°à µ à ´¦à µÂà ´µà ´¿ à ´Âà µÂà ´·à µÂà ´¤à µÂà ´°à ´Â) is a Hindu temple located in Kudappanakunnu, Thiruvananthapuram in the Indian state of Kerala.
According to local tradition, the Temple was established by Brahmins, who worshipped Durga Devi here up until the Nairs, who were the King's soldiers, overthrew them from the temple and the surrounding regions of Kolasherikonam, Mukkambalavila, Valiyavila, Kulakodu and Andoorkonam. After gaining control, the Nairs went on to establish worship of Bhadrakali.
It is believed that the Brahmins migrated northward and established the Mannadi Temple at Adoor, Pathanamthitta. The nearby Pullamkonam Sree Bhadradevi Temple also talks about this connection. The connection of the family to Kings is evident from them being possessors of 'Irayili'.
The worship of Bhadrakali Devi was conducted in the south side of their 'Tharavadu' in a room called 'Udambara'. This region was called 'Thalayapooru Thekkathu'. The entry to this room was from the top and the rituals were conducted by the seniormost member of the family, the Karnavar, who had complete authority over it. Valuables, documents and the weapons of the Goddess were kept safe in this room. For this reason, there was a special lock for the room and a devotee of the deity slept atop it. Apart from Bhadrakali Devi, worship of 'Malamoorthigal' like Yakshi Amma, Madan Thampuran, Marutha and 'Peyum Ganangalum' were conducted in 'Althara'.
After a period of neglect, the rituals at the temple were restarted by Palace tutor N. Raghavan Pillai (c.1904 - 12.1.1960) of the family. The present day members are the descendants of Raghavan Pillai and his wife L. Bhargavi Amma (1912 - 1993). In 1961, due to the deteriorated state of the Tharavadu and Udambara, both of it were demolished. The construction of the new temple concluded the following year. In 1964, a Nagar idol was found from a nearby field, which was later installed in the temple as Nagakanyaka. On 10<sup>th</sup> March, 1978, a new temple was constructed and a sculpture of the goddess, carved in Myladi, was installed. 1985 saw the construction of the temple's archway while in 1999, the temple was rebuilt yet again.
The temple underwent major renovations in 2025. A Panchaloha idol and idol of Bhadrakali is installed while idols for Nagaraja and Nagayakshi were installed beside the existing idol of Nagakanyaka in the kavu. The shrines of Bhadrakali, Durga Devi and Ganapathi were covered in brass. A palanquin was also created for taking the Shiveli idol on processions.
The presiding deity of the temple is Bhadrakali. Durga Devi and Ganapathi are the major sub deities. Worship of Yogeeswaran, , Bhuvaneshvari, Yakshi Amma, Madan Thampuran, Marutha and Peyum Ganangalum were conducted but currently only Yakshi Amma and Madan Thampuran is worshipped. A kavu for Nagaraja, Nagayakshi and Nagakanyaka also exists.
The temple festival is for 3 days, culminating in Karthika of Kumbham. On the final day, the goddess's Shiveli idol is paraded on a palanquin and ceremony is conducted. Navarathri is also observed, during which a 'Saraswati Mandapam' is created.The temple is famous for the (one lakh lamps) ceremony. The first ever lakshadeepam was inaugurated by Suresh Gopi in 2016.
Earlier, rituals were conducted through 'Velichapadu'; and during the Gurusi ceremony, a fowl was sacrificed. It was accompanied with but gradually these traditions came to an end, with the present-day ceremony using a vegetable substitute for the fowl.