Mazhuvannur Maha Siva KshethramMazhuvannur Temple Legend. See
"Mazhuvannur Temple Legend"
is an ancient

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

at Tharuvana in

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, ...

district of the Indian state 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 ...

. The presiding deity is Lord

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

; other deities are Arayil Bhagavathy, Shree Durga, Nandhi, Lord

Ayyappa 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 ...

and Lord

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. This temple is situated on the highest peak in the areas of Karingari, Paliyana, and Tharuvana. Daily ''

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 ...

'' (prayers) were performed there from ancient times. Mazhuvannur Thekke Illam family members have been involved in leading ''pooja'' for many centuries.

Legends

It is believed that the name Mazhuvannur is derived from the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

words "Mazhu" (Axe), "Vanna" (Come), "Oor" (Place), which means "the place where axe had fallen". Legend speaks of Lord Shiva appearing to Banasura after his arduous ''tapas'' (meditation) and offering him a wish. Banasura used this to ask Lord Shiva to guard his Kingdom. Lord Sbiva and

Parvathi Parvati (, , IPA: / pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: / gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, d ...

guarded his castle (Banasura Kotta). Meanwhile, Banasura's daughter Usha was affectionate towards Anirudhan, son of Lord

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

. One day Anirudhan came to Banasura Kotta to meet Usha. This led to a fight between Anirudhan and Banasur that ended with Anirudhan;s capture and sentencing. Lord Krishna, in order to free his son, started a war with Banasur. Because Lord Shiva was a guardian to Banasur, he was forced to fight Lord Krishna. Lord Shiva used his weapon (Sivajwaram) and Lord Krishna resisted with his weapon (Vishnujwaram). Neither was able to claim victory. This led to Lord Shiva throwing his axe against Lord Krishna from the Banasura hills. The axe was believed to have fallen in Mazhuvannur at the location of the temple and Parasurama is believed to have built the temple at this spot.

Functions and activities

Daily ''pooja'' has been carried out in this temple from ancient times. During festival times like Onam, Vishu, Aaayudha Pooja, etc., special poojas are carried out. During Sabarimala season daily evening pooja is carried out. These functions are widely attended by many people from around the country. During Sabarimala season Bhajana (singing prayer) and special prayers are carried out. Recently the temple committee has started giving "Annadanam" on the first Sunday of each month as a form of offering food to monks and other people.

Renovation

The temple, which was built with bricks and wood in ancient times, was renovated recently. The temple had "Naalu Kettu" in very ancient times, but only its remains are still visible there. Presently the temple is under Malabar Dewaswom Board. They planted trees in temple land and made a signpost among other upgrades.

Design

The main temple complex is a Lord Ayyappan tree-based structure. A pond and surrounding land are known as Banglow Kunnu, Naaga Kaav, temple land and idol at Puthusseri.

Landscape

Banasura Hills are near this temple.

Banasura Sagar Dam Banasura Sagar Dam, situated in Padinjarathara in Kerala is the largest earth dam in India and second largest dam in Asia. Banasura Dam is under the control of Padinjarathara KSEB Station. India's first operating floating solar power plant w ...

, one of the biggest earth dams in Asia is nearby.

Gallery

Image:mazhuvannur.jpg, Mazhuvannur Temple Image:mazhuvannur2.jpg, Side view of the temple