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Cherthala (formerly Shertalai, Shertallai or Shertallay) is a town located in the district of Alappuzha, in the state of Kerala, India. It is 31 km to Kochi and Kottayam and 22 km north of Alappuzha town, on the Kochi-Alappuzha National Highway NH 47, as well as the coastal rail route. The coastal town is also about 20 kilometers from the historical town of Vaikom Via Ullala -Chempakassery house and the popular tourism destination Kumarakom.

According to the local legend, once Vilwamangalam Swamiyar, the well known Kerala Hindu saint, while travelling through Cherthala, found an idol of the Devi with its head immersed in a muddy pond. The swami understood the divinity of the idol, took it out of the mud, cleaned it and consecrated it in a temple near the pond. Thus the place is believed to have gotten its name as cher meaning "mud" and thala meaning "head" in Malayalam. The deity of the temple has the name Cherthala Karthiyayani. The word put together means "head from the mud". Unlike in other Kerala temples, the idol of Cherthala Karthiyayani Devi is consecrated in the Sreekovil just below the ground level and cannot be directly viewed by the devotees.

Source : Wikipedia