Attractions

Aryadevi Samadhi Mandapam  :-  Aryadevi Samadhi Mandapam is dedicated to Aryadevi, the mother of Sree Sankara Acharya, as the place of her cremation. Sree Sankara performed the cremation of his mother after her death. He was assisted by two of the ten Namboothiri families of Kalady. One family, Kappilly Mana, honoured the location with daily lamps for centuries.It was noticing the daily lamp Sree Nadukaveri Sreenivasa Sastrikal- special envoy of Sree Sringeri Mutt identified and accepted Kalady as birth Place of Sankara Acharya in 1905 .The Travancore Highness acquired the whole area from Kappilly Mana in the AD 1905 , and handed it over to the Sree Sringeri Mutt, which now maintains the Mandap.

Ghats :The Kalady Kadavu is the place where the river took its turn, and where Kalady was born. It was also the place where Sankara had first performed Aaraattu (a river bath of an idol) for his ancestral deity before installing it at its current location. For centuries, during the festival at Sree Krishna Temple, the Aarattu has been carried out at this ghat.

The "Muthala Kadavu," or Crocodile Ghat, is where Sankara's life turned to Sanyasam (Ascetic life).

His mother, Aryadevi, did not agree with his desire to become a Sanyasin. Legend says that one day, Sankara was touched by a dog and, as per custom followed by the community, Sankara had to take bath. Accompanied by mother, Sankara went to river Poorna to bathe. While in the water, a crocodile caught hold of his leg. The drowning Sankara told his mother that the crocodile would leave him alone if she would allow him to take up Sanyasa. Helpless, his mother agreed, and the crocodile freed Sankara

Here is the ghat where Sree Sankara Acharya performed the Ápara Kriyas (the rituals after death and cremation as per Nambudiri rituals) for his mother, Aryadevi. Today, the ghat is within the temple complex of Sree Sringeri Mutt.