Kanjirottu Yakshi

According to local folklore, Chiruthevi was not just a courtesan but a woman of immense influence in the royal courts of Southern Travancore. Her transformation into a Yakshi (a celestial or supernatural being) is said to have occurred due to the extreme "marana-vedana" (death-throes) and the betrayal she felt at the time of her murder. Legend says she initially resided in a massive Kanjiram (Strychnine tree), from which the name "Kanjirottu" is derived.

The story is closely intertwined with the political turmoil of 18th-century Travancore. Her partner, Raman Thampi, was one of the Ettuveetil Pillamar (Lords of the Eight Houses) who opposed the rise of Anizhom Thirunal Marthanda Varma. In local narratives, the Yakshi's vengeful spirit was believed to have played a role in the supernatural myths surrounding the struggles between the King and the rebels.

Unlike many malevolent spirits in folklore, Kanjirottu Yakshi eventually attained a form of "Moksha" (liberation). Folklore states that, she sought refuge in the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Today, she is worshipped in a small shrine (Thekkedom) within the temple complex, where she is seen as a protector deity who has traded her thirst for blood for spiritual devotion.

Folkloric Background

Sreedevi or Chiruthevi was a courtesan who had as her clients the high and the mighty, and who enjoyed toying with the lives of her many admirers and driving them to financial ruin. However, she fell in love with Kunjuraman, her palanquin-bearer, who would carry both her and her brother Govindan around on his back. However, Kunjuraman was already married and did not reciprocate Chiruthevi's feelings. On the other hand, Govindan and Kunjuraman were very close, with some versions of the tale claiming that the two were lovers.

Frustrated by Kunjuraman's romantic indifference towards her, Chiruthevi arranged for Kunjuraman's wife to be killed. When Govindan found out that his sister was behind the plot, he told Kunjuraman, who agreed to sleep with Chiruthevi. While they were in bed, Kunjuraman strangled Chiruthevi in order to avenge the murder of his wife.

Following her murder, Chiruthevi was reborn as a yakshi to a couple in Kanjirottu. She magically transformed into a bewitchingly beautiful woman moments after her birth. As a yakshi, she proceeded to seduce and terrorize men and drink their blood, never forgetting to harass the still-living Kunjuraman, whom she still desired. To help Kunjuraman, Govindan, who was also a great upasaka of Lord Balarama, made a deal with the yakshi whereby she could cohabit with Kunjuraman for a year, after which she was to become a devotee of Narasimha. The other conditions of this deal were that she must agree to be installed at a temple after the year was up, and that she must pray for Govindan and his relationship with Kunjuraman in this birth and all subsequent ones. The yakshi swore on 'ponnum vilakkum' in agreement, and after the year was up, she was installed at a temple in Kanjiracode which got destroyed many years later.