Cochin Devaswom Board
Statutory board · Round North, Thrissur
The Cochin Devaswom Board administers the temples of the former Cochin State, spread over Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram districts. It was formed in Thrissur on 1 July 1949 and today works under the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act of 1950. Its best-known temples are Vadakkunnathan in Thrissur, where Thrissur Pooram is held, Chottanikkara Bhagavathy near Kochi, Kodungallur Bhagavathy, Triprayar and Tripunithura's Poornathrayeesa. For pilgrims, most of its major temples run their own websites for offerings and festival details. The Board's office at Thrissur handles grievances.
How it is run
A three-member board (a President and two members) nominated under the 1950 Act through the Hindu members of the Kerala Council of Ministers and the Hindu MLAs. The temples' accounts are run through five group offices: Chottanikkara, Thrissur, Thiruvanchikulam, Thiruvilwamala and Thripunithura.
Tips for pilgrims
- For offerings and timings, use the temple's own site, linked from cochindevaswomboard.org. The Board itself has no single pilgrim booking portal.
- Koodalmanikyam (Irinjalakuda) and Guruvayur are not CDB temples. Each has its own statutory devaswom. Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu, the two Thrissur Pooram partners, are not CDB temples either.
- Thrissur Pooram centres on the Vadakkunnathan temple grounds (Thekkinkadu Maidan). Expect very heavy crowds and road closures in Thrissur town that day.
Temples it runs
- Vadakkunnathan Temple – Thekkinkadu Maidan, Thrissur
- Chottanikkara Bhagavathy Temple – Chottanikkara, Ernakulam
- Arattupuzha Sree Dharma Sastha Temple – Arattupuzha, Thrissur
- Ernakulam Shiva Temple (Ernakulathappan) – Ernakulam, Kochi
- Kodungallur Sree Kurumba Bhagavathy Temple – Kodungallur, Thrissur
- Nelluvai Sree Dhanwanthari Temple – Nelluvai, Thrissur
- Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple – Tripunithura, Ernakulam
- Thiruvanchikulam Mahadeva Temple – Thiruvanchikulam, Kodungallur, Thrissur
- Thiruvilwamala Sree Vilwadrinatha Temple – Thiruvilwamala, Thrissur
- Triprayar Sree Rama Temple – Thriprayar, Thrissur