Spider Goddess

TEN kilometres away from Adoor, in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, is a 1,200-year-old temple, where the deity is a goddess in the form of a spider.

The temple is called Chilanthi Kshetram, or the spider temple. Victims of spider bites, who come here are given theertham or holy water, which is taken from a well outside the temple. The well water has the sweet scent of medicinal herbs and those who drink it or even wash their face with it, are said to get cured of complications arising from spider bites.

A legend goes that King Ravindran Vikraman, who was a renowned Ayurvedic physician, ruled over the region where the temple is located. He did not have a son to pass on his healing skills and so, just before he died, he buried his precious collection of traditional herbs and medicines in the palace.

Misfortune fell upon the family soon after his death. The eldest daughter died of small pox. The second daughter met with an untimely death. The only surviving member of the family was the king’s youngest daughter, who spent all her time practising austerities with a spider on her body.

After her death, the door of the palliyara or the royal chamber, where she did her penance, remained closed. For some reason no one tried to enter it. Then one day, the door of the

palliyara is said to have opened on its own, and exactly at the place where the princess used to perform penance, was the image of a beautiful goddess in the form of a spider!