| Cherthala | |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality[1] |
| Pushpin Map: | India Kerala#India |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Kerala, India |
| Coordinates: | 9.6869°N 76.3361°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Kerala |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Alappuzha |
| Leader Title: | MLA |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 16.18 |
| Elevation M: | 2 |
| Population Total: | 45,827 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Rank: | 11 (Cherthala Urban Agglomeration) |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Malayalam, English |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | PIN |
| Postal Code: | 688524 (town) |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone code |
| Area Code: | 0478 |
| Registration Plate: | KL-32 or KL-04 |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Sex ratio |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | 1030 ♂/♀ |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Lok Sabha constituency |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | Alappuzha |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | Vidhan Sabha constituency |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | Cherthala |
Cherthala is a municipality in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, India and act as satellite town of kochi. It is located 20km (10miles) north of the district headquarters in Alappuzha and about 146km (91miles) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Cherthala has a population of 45,821 people, and a population density of 2727/sqkm.
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. 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.[2]
According to 2011 census report, Cherthala Municipality had population of 45,827 of which 22,192 are males while 23,635 are females.
Population of Children with age of 0-6 is 3988 which is 8.70% of total population of Cherthala (M). In Cherthala Municipality, Female Sex Ratio is of 1065 against state average of 1084. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Cherthala is around 911 compared to Kerala state average of 964. Literacy rate of Cherthala city is 97.02% higher than state average of 94.00%. In Cherthala, Male literacy is around 98.58% while female literacy rate is 95.59%.[3]
See main article: article and Educational organizations in Cherthala.
See main article: article and Industries in Cherthala.
Cherthala Town Municipality has 35 wards.[5] The town is well known after the Karthyayani Devi temple, located in the center of the town. Two more sub-temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu are also located on the northern side of the main temple. A sub-temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, also known as Kaavudayan and another dedicated to Kshethrapalakan believed to be Devi's temple caretaker are located on the southern corner of the main temple. 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. One can see many roosters flocking around the temple premises. These roosters are the offerings of the devotees, an ancient custom followed in many devi temples of Kerala. The temple is administered by Travancore Devaswom Board.
Another temple in Cherthala town is the Muttathu Thirumala Devaswam temple. Lord Narasimha presiding in the form of Saligrama and Sree Venkatachalapathy Moorthy with bhoo devi and sree devi are the deities of this temple. The temple conducts its annual festival either ahead of the Karthyayani Devi's festival or soon after that. The Pallivetta is a procession where it is believed that Goddess is going for the divine hunting. The annual festival lasts for eight days.