Cherthala is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India and act as satellite town of kochi.

According to local legend, Vilwamangalam Swamiyar, the 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.

Thousands of devotees coming from different 'karas' (localities) of Cherthala participate in the Padayani, vela thullal and pooram pattu, the main rituals conducted during the temple festival.

A large pond exists in front of the Taluk office that belongs to the Karthyayani Devi temple.