Paravur Mookambika temple is located in the town of North Paravur in the Ernakulam district of Kerala. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the Goddess of learning. Paravur was earlier in Cochin State. Apart from the main deity the temple also houses the idols of Lord Ganesha, Subrahmanyan, Mahavishnu, Yakshi, Lord Hanuman and Veerabhadran. A shrine devoted to Yakshi is at the southwest corner. The garbhagriha or sanctum sanctorum of the temple is in the midst of a lotus pool.

Legend of Paravur Mookambika Temple
Paravur Mookambika Temple is associated with a legend. The town`s local ruler Paravur Thampuran was a great devotee of Goddess Saraswati. He often visited the Mookambika temple in the north to seek her blessings. When he became too old and weak he could no longer undertake the long journey to Karnataka. Thus, he prayed to the goddess and prayed for her vision. That very night he saw the goddess in his dream. Accordingly he built a temple at Paravur itself and installed the Goddess there, thus enabling the Thampuran to have daily darshan of the Devi. In due course the temple which is in the centre of a lotus pond came to be known as dakshina Mookambika while the one in Karnataka was referred to as northern Mookambika.

Cochin State later transferred Paravur to Travancore State. As such this temple is now under the administration of the Travancore Devaswom Board.

Festivals of Paravur Mookambika Temple
The Paravur Mookambika Temple celebrates many festivals on a grand scale every year. During this time the temple is beautifully decorated with lights and flowers. The Navaratri festival, sacred to Goddess Durga, Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati, is celebrated here. Thousands of devotees participate in the Navaratri music festival. On the auspicious day of Durgashtami, books are arranged in front of the image of Goddess Saraswati. On the Vijayadashami morning, Ezhuthinirithu or Vidyarambham ceremony takes place at a special mandapam. On this day many little children are made to write the word harisree on rice. Another ten day annual festival is also celebrated in the month of Makaram i.e. from January to February starting from the Uttrattati asterism. The music festival and Vidyarambham ceremony are the main features of this festival. Like its counterpart in Karnataka here also the deity is offered trimadhuram i.e. pudding of banana, sugar and honey in morning and kashayam, an ayurvedic medicine at night.