Chirakkadavu Mahadevar Temple is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

located at

Chirakkadavu Chirakkadavu is a village in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. The nearest town of Chirakkadavu is Kanjirappally. The main landmark of the place is Sree Mahadeva Temple. It is one of the temples included in 108 Siva Temples. Ch ...

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and is situated between the

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

Theni Theni is a valley town situated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu at the foothills of the Western Ghats. It is the headquarters of the Theni district, 70km from Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in th ...

route of the National Highway 183, about 32 km east of the Akshra Nagari,

city and 3 km south of

Ponkunnam Ponkunnam is a town in Kerala, India, part of Kottayam district under Kanjirappally taluk. Nearby towns are Kanjirappalli, Pampady, Manimala and Pala. Ponkunnam literally means ''golden mountain'' (''ponn'' = gold, ''kunn'' = mountain). Po ...

en route to

Manimala Manimala is a small town and a village in Kottayam district in the Indian state of Kerala, situated about from the nearest town Kanjirappally. It was declared a folklore village in 2011 by the central government to promote folklore. Geograp ...

and

Erumely Erumely, also spelled Erumeli, is a town and panchayat located in the south-eastern part of Kottayam district in Kerala, India. Erumely is situated east of Kottayam town and north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The village is on the b ...

History

Chirakkadavu Sri Mahadevar Temple is a very ancient temple about 1000 years old and the idol is a '

Swayambhu Svayambhu () is a Sanskrit word that means "self-born", "self-manifested", "self-existing", or "that that is created by its own accord". Various deities and entities featured in Hindu literature and tradition are regarded to be svayambhu, such as ...

Siva

Lingam A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or Aniconism, aniconic representation of the Hinduism, Hindu Hindu deities, god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Up ...

' which was found under a '

bilva ''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as bael (or ''bili'' or ''bhel''), also Bengal quince, golden apple, Japanese bitter orange, stone apple or wood apple, is a species of tree native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is present i ...

Tree' (

Aegle marmelos ''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as bael (or ''bili'' or ''bhel''), also Bengal quince, golden apple, Japanese bitter orange, stone apple or wood apple, is a species of tree native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is present i ...

). It is believed that the temple was built during the time of the '

Alwars The Alvars () are the Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused ''bhakti'' (devotion) to the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, in their songs of longing, ecstasy, and service. They are venerated in Vaishnavism, which regards Vishnu as the Ul ...

'. There is also a temple tank, from where the mud was dug up to build this temple. Devotees could wash their feet in the water of the streams around the place before entering the temple. Because of the pond ('Chira' in Malayalam ) in the eastern side of the temple the place is called 'Chirakadavu'.

Mythology

The king who built the temple is said to have built an '

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Tapas Tapas () are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as , which are battered, fried baby squid; or , spicy potatoes). In some bars ...

' there and came to be known as Kuwala (Bilwa) Maharshi. During his 'Tapas' the Lord appeared in his dreams and according to his wish the king continued his

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

and is said to have entered heavenly abode.

The temple structure

The ' Balikallu' of this temple is very big in size. In front of this there is beautiful sculpture and a huge lamp earned out of granite which attract attention. Even though the 'Balikallu' is huge in size the Darshan of the Lord is possible if we stand near the gate of the eastern gopuram. The wooden carvings all round the temple is extremely attractive. The clean and peaceful atmosphere of this temple attracts many devotees. There are 5

poojas Pooja Gauthami Umashankar is an Indian-Sri Lankan actress who has primarily appeared in Indian Tamil and Sri Lankan Sinhala cinema. Early and personal life Pooja was born on June 25, 1981, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Pooja's father, H. R. Umashan ...

, 3 Seeveli and daily ' Navakam' in this temple.

Festivals

In the past when there were no vehicles and when people used to walk to

Sabarimala The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple () is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Ayyappan, who is also known as Dharma Shasta and is the son of the deities Shiva and Mohini (female avatar of the god Vishnu). The temple is situated atop th ...

on pilgrimage, they would halt in this Chirakadavu Temple. The Ayyappa devotees considered Chirakadavu Sri Mahadeva as the father of

Lord Ayyappan Ayyappan, also known as Dharmasastha and Manikandan, is the Hindu deity of truth and righteousness. According to Hindu theology, he is described as the son of Shiva and Mohini (the female avatar of Vishnu), thus representing a bridge between Sh ...

. So several Ayyappa Devotees visit this temple. Even the day every year on Dhanu 24th the pilgrims going to Sabarimala conduct "Ayyappan Pattu" in this temple as they had done in the past. The "

Velakali Velakali is a traditional martial dance of Nair community of Kerala, India that is performed during Temple Festivals of Kerala, temple festivals. Brightly dressed dancers wielding swords and shields depict a fight sequence between the Pandavas ...

" of Sri Mahadeva temple performed during the festival time is a very rare item. For this children between the age of five and twenty dressed up as warriors holding swords and shield dance according to the rhythmic beat on the drums. This 'Velathullal' dance is indeed a splendid sight. "Meenari" is a famous offering of this temple. During the 'Karkidaka Vavu' devotees buy rice from the temple and feed the fish in the temple pond. Many devotees rush to the temple to perform this special offering. People believe that those who perform this 'Vazhipadu' can get cured of many diseases. 'Jaladhara and Mrithinjaya Pushpanjali' are also offered by several devotees to get cure the diseases. Likewise 'Swayamvara Pushpanjali' is offered by several youth irrespective of sex to get better marital relations. It is a very surprisingly experience that these offering turns very positive results. An important vazhipadu 'Chaturshatam' is performed in this temple which is a rare offering. Due to the traditional rituals followed and the income of the temple it occupies an important place in the Devaswom Board Temples. Also this is one of the very few self-sufficient temples of the ravancoreDewasom Board.

References

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