Report: Chandrakant Vishwanath
Judge Temple: While thousands of gods and goddesses are worshiped in India, there is a temple in Kerala where the deity is not a mythological character but a real judge living in the 18th century. Judgiyammavan i.e. Judge Uncle is worshiped in the Cheruvalli Devi temple located in Kottayam district of Kerala. It is believed that he listens to the prayers of people troubled in court related matters and gives them mental peace. Although the main deity of this temple is Bhadrakali, under the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), many famous people of South India, film stars and even people associated with the judiciary come here to have darshan of Jajayammavan. Recently, this temple came into limelight when actor Dilip was acquitted by the court on 8 December 2025 in the 2017 kidnapping and rape case. After the case was registered, in 2019, actor Dilip came here with his brother to offer prayers and offerings.
About 200 years ago, the princely state of Travancore was ruled by Karthika Tirunal Rama Varma, who was known as Dharmaraja (just king). His reign, from 7 July 1758 to 17 February 1798, was Travancore’s longest. He was famous for his adherence to the ancient justice system and law. There was a judge in the king’s court named Govinda Pillai, who belonged to the Ramavarmath family based in Thalavady near Tiruvalla. He was a scholar of Sanskrit and like the king, he never deviated from the path of law and justice.
Judge Temple: Govind Pillai, the judge in the princely state of Travancore, had mistakenly sentenced his nephew to death. This is the entrance to the temple of Judge Govind Pillai. (Photo: Chandrakant Vishwanath)
What was the mistake?
Once a serious allegation was made against Govind Pillai’s nephew Padmanabha Pillai and the case went to his court. After listening to the evidence and arguments, the judge found his nephew guilty and sentenced him to death. But some time after the hanging, Govind Pillai was deeply shocked to learn that his decision was wrong and that his nephew was actually innocent. Judge Pillai could not bear the guilt of giving death sentence to his own nephew due to a wrong decision. He demanded the king to punish himself. The king initially refused, but later agreed and handed over the task of pronouncing the sentence to Govind Pillai. The punishment that Govind Pillai gave himself was extremely harsh and horrifying. He ordered that both his legs be cut off and he be publicly hanged and the body be left hanging at the same place for three days. Soon this order was implemented.
How did you get a place in the temple?
After some time, inauspicious incidents started happening in the area. Then an astrologer was consulted. The astrologer said that the souls of the judge and his nephew have not attained salvation. After this, the judge’s soul was given samadhi at his family home in Payyambally, Cheruvalli, while the nephew’s soul found a place in a temple in Tiruvalla, about 50 kilometers away. Later the idol of Jajayammavan was installed in the Cheruvalli Devi temple. In the year 1978, the descendants of the judge built a separate sanctum sanctorum for her, outside the main goddess in the temple courtyard.
What is the time of darshan and where is this temple?
This temple opens only for about 45 minutes every day. The worship here starts at around 8 pm, when the doors of the main sanctum sanctorum of Bhadrakali Devi are closed. The main prasad here is ‘Ada’, which is made from raw rice flour, sugar or jaggery and grated coconut. Apart from this, coconut water, betel leaves and betel nut are also offered. Cheruvalli Devi Temple is located on the Punalur-Muvattupuzha Highway, between Ponkunnam and Manimala. The nearest railway station here is Kottayam, which is about 37 kilometers away.
