Badrakaliyamman Temple is located at Ambagarathur village, near Tirunallar, in
Karaikal District of
Pondicherry. It is devoted to Badrakaliyamman, an incarnation of Goddess Parasakthi.
According to a local legend, the temple derived its name from Goddess Parasakthi, who killed a demon named Ambaran here. Ambaran was in buffalo form at the time of his death. Initially, during the Tamil month of Baisakhi, a buffalo was killed to memorize this event. Though this observance was discontinued in 1965, the splendor of the festival still continues.
Formerly, the place was known as Ambaran-urandha-oor, which literally means victory over Ambaran. It later became Ambagarathur.
Ambagarathur is 14 km west of Karaikal.
