Sree Andalurkavu is a very ancient, famous and prominent

Thiyya The Ezhavas, () also known as ''Thiyya'' or ''Tiyyar'' () in the Malabar region, and Chovar () in the south, are a community with origins in the region of India presently known as Kerala, where in the 2010s they constituted about 23% of the po ...

Community Urayima temple in Andalur in Dharmadam village of

Kannur district Kannur () is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts along the west coast in the state of Kerala, India. The city of Kannur is the district headquarters and gives the district its name. The old name, Cannanore, is the anglicized form of th ...

, Kerala, India. It counts among the Abhimana Kshetrams of Vaishnavite Shrines. This ancient temple is in the name of Lord

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

and the main festival is celebrated in mid-February: the first week of the month "Kumbam" of the

Malayalam calendar The Malayalam Calendar, or the Kollam Era (), is a sidereal solar calendar used in Kerala. The origin of the calendar has been dated to 825 CE, commemorating the establishment of Kollam. There are many theories regarding the origin of t ...

Etymology

The name Andalurkavu ("Andar-villoor-kavu") can be interpreted as the grove where the sacred weapons of deities are kept. There are interesting interpretations behind the names of all the other places that surround Andalur like Melur, Palayad and Dharmadam.

Worship

In Andalur kavu ''Thira'' is the main festival. It is one of the rare places where Yuddha kanda of

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

— the great epic — is visualised and performed. The main deities are

(as Daivathaar),

Lakshmana Lakshmana (, ), also known as Laxmana, Lakhan, Saumitra, and Ramanuja, is the younger brother of Rama in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is considered as an incarnation of Shesha, the lord of serpents. Lakshmana was married to Urmila, and i ...

(as Angakkaran) and

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

(as Bappuran). One significance for this kavu is that it has two holy places called ''Mele Kavu'' (upper temple) and ''Thazhe kavu'' (lower temple). The ThazheKavu is a sacred grove that harbors several rare plant species typical of the Myristica swamps, notably '' Syzygium travancoricum'', an endangered endemic plant. Much of the flora of the sacred grove has been lost due to poor regeneration and the disturbance from cattle and human activity in this thickly populated area.

Annual festival

The annual festival is a wonderful visualisation of devotional unity of a place where people still follow very old and sacred customs throughout the season. It is the time the village gets themselves into a feeling in which they become part of and enjoy the happiness of being part of the glory of Lord Rama. It is the festival where it pictures the great culture merging the normal and common life with great old mythologies. The festival begins in February second week lasting seven days. More than ten

theyyam Theyyam is a Hindu religious ritual practised in the North Malabar Region of Kerala and some parts of Karnataka. Theyyam is a ritual performance involving extended chanting of mantras and ceremonial preparations that typically span 8 to 10 hou ...

s are performed here during the festival. Among them the theyyam named ''Daivathaar'' is the most important one. Devotees consider ''Daivathaar'' as a channel/medium of Lord

Accessibility

Nearest Airports: *

Kannur International Airport Kannur International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Kannur, the Mahé district, Mahé district of Puducherry and the rest of northern Kerala in India. It is located in Mattanur, east of Kannur and east of Thalassery. ...

- *

Kozhikode International Airport Kozhikode International Airport , also known as Calicut International Airport (locally referred to as Karipur Airport), is an international airport serving the cities of Kozhikode and Malappuram in the state of Kerala, India. It also serves ot ...

- *

Mangalore International Airport Mangalore International Airport (also known as Mangaluru International Airport) is an international airport serving the coastal city of Mangalore in the state of Karnataka, India. It is one of only two international airports in the state, t ...

- Nearest Towns / Railway stations : *

Thalassery Thalassery () (also called Tellicherry) is a city and municipality on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahe and Kozhikode. Thalassery municipality has a population of just under ...

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Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the maj ...

- *

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

Gallery

File:Squad of Thiyars from the Royal Procession of Sree Rama Deivathar at Kanathur Temple.jpg, Kanathoor Temple Sree Rama Deivathar with Thiyyar Community Achanmar 1901 File:Thiyyar ooralar at andalur kavu temple.jpg, Thiyyar ooralar at andaloor kavu File:Theyyam make up 1.jpg,

make up File:Theyyam 3.jpg,

Theyyam Theyyam is a Hindu religious ritual practised in the North Malabar Region of Kerala and some parts of Karnataka. Theyyam is a ritual performance involving extended chanting of mantras and ceremonial preparations that typically span 8 to 10 hou ...

File:A sculpture of hanuman.jpg, A sculpture of god Hanumaan

References

External links

Sree Andalurkavu

A page from Anna Howard Shaw Center, Boston University - School of Theology

Dharmadam
{{Hindu temples in Kerala Vishnu temples Abhimana temples of Vishnu Hindu temples in Kannur district