Sealed away in Vault B of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala is an old and bloodthirsty deity said to pray to atone for her sins. Known as the vampiric Kanjirottu Yakshi, people still fear her wrath and refuse to open her vault.
Along the backwaters and shaded groves of Kerala, where river and forest blend into shadows long before nightfall, old folk tales speak of a being as beautiful as she is deadly. She is known as the Kanjirottu Yakshi, a female spirit once human, now hunting for blood.
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The yakshi spirits are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies. The benign ones are worshipped as tutelaries and are attendees of Kubera, the treasurer of the gods, and also the Hindu god of wealth who ruled Himalayan kingdom of Alaka. There are also malign and mischievous yakshinis with poltergeist-like behaviours. Many folk stories feature murdered women reborn as vengeful yakshis. Among these, the Kanjirottu Yakshi is one of the most feared, admired, and enduring figures.
The Vengeful Courtesan
Kanjirottu Yakshi, also known as Mangalathu Sreedevi or Chiruthevi was said to have been born into a Padamangalam family called Mangalathy. She grew up in Kanjiracode, a small village in Southern Travancore that is now in Tamil Nadu.
Said to have been a beautiful courtesan, she had a relationship with Raman Thampi, son of King Rama Varma and rival of Anizhom Thirunal Marthanda Varma in the 1700. She was also known as a flirtatious woman, playing with men’s feelings and driving them to financial ruin for sport.
She loved her servant and palanquin-bearer named Kunjuraman though. The job of Kunjiraman was to carry Sreedevi and her brother Govindan on his back. He was a married man and one of the few that had no interest in her romantically.
He was close with her brother, Govindan though, some even claiming they were lovers. They often shared the same room, but she didn’t do anything about this. Instead, she directed her anger toward his wife.
Frustrated and arrogant, she plotted to have his wife killed, although her brother intervened and stopped the plan by spilling it all to Kunjiraman. Thinking she had gotten her way, Kunjiraman agreed to sleep with her. But he was plotting for himself and murdered her to avenge his wife. Some say he strangled her to death when they were in bed together. Her brother turned a blind eye to his crime and protected his friend.
After her death, she turned into a yakshi, the malevolent kind. She was reborn in the village of Kajirottu in Kundara as a grown woman, still as beautiful as always. Hunting Kunjuraman and terrorising the rest of the villagers, she drank their blood. She said that she would stop if he decided to marry her.
Her brother was a devoted upāsaka and follower of Lord Balarama, a deity of farming. She made a deal with him that she would spend a year with Kunjuraman if she agreed to become a devotee of Narasimha after this year ended.
She also had to agree to pray for Govindan and his relationship with Kunjuraman in this birth and all subsequent ones. The yakshi swore on ‘ponnum vilakkum’ in agreement.
Later, she was installed at a temple that Kanjiraccottu Valiaveedu owned. devotees used to give ‘Pongala’ to the Sreedevi Yakshi Amma on Pooram on the first Friday in every Malayalam month except Meenom. This temple no longer exists, so where is she now?
Pongala: Pongala is a harvest festival of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The name ‘Pongala’ means ‘to boil over’ and refers to the ritualistic offering of porridge made of rice, sweet brown molasses, coconut gratings, nuts and raisins. Generally women devotees participate in this ritual. Here from the Kalam Karikkal festival on Makara Chovva at Kalathil Sree Rudhiramala Bhagavathy Temple, Manatthala, Chavakkaadu, Thrissur. // Source
The Vampire of the Night in the Vault
The Kanjirottu Yakshi is now said to reside in Vault B of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. This is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. which supposedly also contains an enormous treasure and secrets inside of their sealed vaults.
B vault is one of the six vaults of the temple and its original name being “Mahabharata Kallara” and is the largest cellar. A four-day Ashtamangala Devaprasnam conducted in August 2011 declared Kallara B as a “forbidden zone”. The enchanting and ferocious forms of this Yakshi are painted on the south-west part of Sri Padmanabha’s shrine. This is where Kanjirotty Yakshi is said to dwell.
The temple was originally built in 6th century A.D., and later beautified further by the Kings of Travancore after 10 centuries. The royal family of Travancore is believed to be descendants of the adored saint Kulashekhara Alwar and are the ones watching over it.
The vault remains unopened due to ongoing legal issues and the legend of the Yakshi, whom some believe will wreak havoc on the world if her prayers to Lord Narasimha within Vault B are disturbed by opening the vault.
Around a hundred years ago, when the area was grappling with serious famine, the temple authorities tried to open the chamber to use the treasure kept locked behind the doors. But, when they heard the sound of gushing ocean waves from behind the door, they stepped back and gave up the idea. Since then, it is believed that the chamber is connected to the Arabian Sea, and any attempt made with the modern technology to open the door will unleash catastrophes across the state and in Kerala.
Legend has it that in the 1930s, when a gang of temple invaders tried to siphon off the belongings of Vault B. But when they encountered Cobras, they fled the scene.
In 2011 following the Supreme Court’s order five of them were opened and were found to be one of the largest treasure troves in the world. bags full of ancient gold coins, diamonds, gemstones, very heavy and huge gold and diamond necklaces.
The untimely death of Sundarajan, the petitioner, a month after the doors were opened. Another observer lost his mother to death as a result of the curse.
Kanjirottu Yakshi of Fear and Reverence
So what of the bloodthirsty Yakshi? Has all her years in prayers changed her terrorizing nature, or would she go back to her old ways if let out?
Over the years, her deity has also garnered followers. Sundara Lakshmi, an accomplished dancer and consort of HH Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma, was an ardent devotee of Kanjirottu Yakshi Amma.
In July 2020, the Supreme Court of India upheld the rights of the Travancore royal family to manage the Temple. The royal family has maintained that they oppose the opening of Vault B, stating that it is a “secret and sacred place.” According to them, no amount of treasure hidden inside would be worth the danger of letting her out.
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References:
Kanjirottu Yakshi: Blood Drinking Tale of Kerala – Scientific Monk
Kanjirottu Yakshi – Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia
