The Sasthamangalam Mahadevar Temple is an ancient Hindu temple in the

Sasthamangalam Sasthamangalam () is a ward in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, a ...

ward of

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Municipal Corporation,

Kerala State Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Cana ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. It is located on top of a hill away from the city centre to promote the spiritual tranquility of the shrine. The temple is more than 700 years old according to the available records, and was regularly visited by the Kings of Travancore. It is administered by the

Travancore Devaswom Board Travancore Devaswom Board is statutory and autonomous body managing around 1200 temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples inclu ...

Foundation legend

The foundation legend is that when the site of the temple was still grassland, a woman cutting grass sharpened her knife on a rock lying on the ground, and the rock bled. On further investigation it was confirmed that the piece of stone was a

shiva lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional ...

and it was consecrated. The temple was constructed round the spot in due course.

Deities and sub-deities

In this temple the main deity is Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...

as Uma Maheshwara, and the sub-deities are

Ganapathi Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...

Murugan Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Gan ...

and

Dharma Sastha Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil. Although devotion ...

(Ayyappan). Outside the temple compound on the banks of

Killi River Killi river, also called Killiyar, the main tributary of Karamana River, originates at Theerthankara close to Panavur in Nedumangad taluk of Thiruvananthapuram district. The river enters Thiruvananthapuram city at Vazhayila and flows through M ...

, murthis of

Bhadrakali Bhadrakali ( IAST: Bhadrakālī; ), also known as Mahakali and Kali, is a Hindu goddess. According to Shaktism, she is one of the fierce forms of the Supreme Goddess Shakti, or Adi Parashakti, mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Vais ...

and Veerabhadran,

Nagarajah Nagaraja ( sa, नागराज ', ) is a title used to refer to the nagas, the serpent-like figures that appear in Indian religions. It refers to the kings of the various races of the nāga, the divine or semi-divine, half-human, half-serpen ...

and Nagayakshi are consecrated.

Main Festivals

The main annual temple festival here lasts for ten days, commencing on the Thiruvathira Star Day with the hoisting of a flag on the golden flagstaff in the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

month of Dhanu and ending with the Aarattu ceremony on the tenth day (in December–January according to the western calendar). The ceremonies of

Pradosham Pradosha or Pradosham (IAST: Pradoṣa) is a bimonthly occasion on the thirteenth day of every fortnight in the Hindu calendar. Aiya V. 1906, p. 103 It is closely connected with the worship of the Hindu god Shiva. The auspicious three-hour perio ...

, Shivrathri,

Makara Vilakku Makaravilakku is an annual festival held on Makara Sankranti in Kerala, India at the shrine of Sabarimala. The festival includes the Thiruvabharanam (sacred ornaments of Lord Ayyappan) procession and a congregation at the hill shrine of Sabar ...

and so on are all auspicious at this temple.

Usual offerings

Offerings are made by devotees in the form of anointing the deity with water, rosewater, milk, tender coconut water, ghee and so on; presenting garlands made up of sacred leaves of the

bael Bael may refer to: *''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as the Bael tree *Bael (demon) * Bael (wrestler) See also * Baal (disambiguation) Baal is a Semitic term for "Lord" or "owner". Baal may also refer to: Religion * Baal (demon), a Christian d ...

tree (''vilwa'' leaves in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

, ''koovalam'' in

); Ganapathi Homam, Mrityunjaya Homam (fire rituals); Archana; Muzhukappu (adorning the deities with

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus '' Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for ...

paste); ''payasam'' (sweet porridge) and so on. ''Annadanam'' (feast) is offered on festival days.

Beliefs and customs

In most of the Shiva temples such as

Sreekanteswaram Mahadeva Temple, Thiruvananthapuram Sreekanteswaram Mahadeva Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram in the Indian state of Kerala. This temple is more than 700 years old. It is dedicated to Shiva and is within 3 km of the Central Railway Station ...

, going round the sanctum (''Sree kovil'') is not allowed: the custom is to finish three quarters of the ''pradakshinam'' (circumambulation) and then to return and start from the beginning. (This is because crossing the passage of the holy water '' somasootham'' is not allowed). In this temple, however, as a practice followed from the early days and found by astrological consultation (''deva prasnam'') not to be wrong, the full ''pradakshinam'' is allowed. Even though there is no murthi or shrine for Devi Parvathi, the consort of Lord Shiva, the belief is that the presence of Devi Parvathi is also there, as stated in an ancient poem which is recited in this temple.

References

{{Reflist Hindu temples in Thiruvananthapuram district Shiva temples in Kerala 108 Shiva Temples