The temple is at Kayamkulam in the Alappuzha district. The origin of this temple is connected with the story of Khandava dahanam, the buring of the Khandava forest in Mahabharatha. Lord Agni, the Lord of Fire, came before Arjuna as a Brahmin and asked him to give him enough food to satisfy his hunger.  As Arjuna thought that it was his duty to provide food for the Brahmin, he immediately agreed.  Agni wanted the Khandava forest as food. As Thakshaka, the serpent lived there, it always rained in that forest. So, he wanted Arjuna to make a covering over the forest with his arrows and allow more him to devour the place.  As requested by Arjuna, Lord Krishna made the covering and allowed Agni to fulfil his desire. As it was the place where divine arrows were shot, the place came to be called ‘eytha ooru ‘or Evoor. As it was the place where fire burned, the place came to be known as; kathiya ooru’ or Kathiyyor.  As the powerful Goddess Karthyayani was consecrated at Kathiyyoor in the south and Kumaranelloor in the north the fire was restricted to the area between the two.  Even now when the land around the two temples is dug, burned logs are found showing that it was the Khandava forest in the past. Eight hundred years ago, a fire erupted in the temple. Four of the priests tried to save the idol. Then a local man also entered the sanctum to remove the idol but all five of them were killed in the fire. The idol that was damaged in the fire was changed and a new one was installed in the 1139 Malayalam Era.  The five men who died in the fire were also consecrated as Rakshass. Now the three-and-a-half-foot tall idol of Durga with four hands has been consecrated facing the east.