Thiruvanchikulam Siva Temple (medieval Thiruvanchaikkalam Temple) is a

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 situated in

Kodungallur Kodungallur (; formerly also called as Cranganore (anglicised name), Portuguese language, Portuguese: Cranganor; Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of Per ...

Thrissur district Thrissur (), anglicised as Trichur, is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about , th ...

of Kerala state, India. Constructed in the Kerala style of architecture, the temple is believed to have been built during the Chera period . Shiva is worshipped as Mahadeva and his consort Parvathi as Umadevi. There are 33 sub-deities in this temple, the highest number so in

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 revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the ''

Tevaram The ''Tevaram'' (, ), also spelled ''Thevaram'', denotes the first seven volumes of the twelve-volume collection ''Tirumurai'', a Saivism, Shaiva narrative of epic and Puranas, Puranic heroes, as well as a Hagiography, hagiographic account of ...

'', written by Tamil saint poets known as the Nayanmars and classified as '' Paadal Petra Sthalam'', one of the 276 temples that find mention in the canon. It is the only temple in Kerala in the list. As per Periyapuranam, Sundara Murthi Nayanar, one of the four great saints in Tamil Shivism ascended to heaven from this place. Cheraman Perumal, the traditional legedary king of Kerala, is believed to went to ‘Kailasa’ with his companion Saiva saint, Sundaramoorthi Nayanar from this temple premises. The temple is open from 4 am - 12 pm and 4-8:30 pm on all days except during festival days when it is open the full day. Four daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the eight-day Mahashivaratri festival in the Malayalam month of Kumbham (

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March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

) is the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Thiruvanchikulam Devaswom under the Cochin Devaswom Board.

History

This is the only Thevaram Paadal Petra Shiva sthalam in Kerala. Shiva is the family god of the

Cochin Royal Family The kingdom of Cochin or the Cochin State, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It originated in the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until i ...

( Perumpadapu Swaroopam) after they came to power following the decline of Chera Empire). The temple has very good mural paintings and is a protected monument by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

. The national anthem of erstwhile kingdom of

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

, Vanchi Bhumi refers to the deity of this temple, the official deity of imperial Chera Empire from whom the former claim lineage. The temple has the oldest reference in history in Thevaram Hymns sung by Sundara Murthi Nayanar (also known as Sundarar in Tamil), one of the four Saiva Acharyas. The images of Sundara Murthi Nayanar, and of Cheraman Perumal Nayanar can also be seen in the temple premises. It is one of the oldest Shiva temples in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, where Shiva is said to live along with his whole family. It was from here, Sundara Murthi Nayanar reached Kailash by sitting on a white elephant, sent by Lord Shiva on Adi Swathi day (July/August). He was followed on horse back by Seraman Perumal Nayanar. On his way to Kailash, Sundara Murthi Nayanar sang a Padhigam which was sent back to Thiruvanchikulam on his request. The temple is associated with Chidambaram temple in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. The capital city of the Kulasekharas,

Mahodayapuram Kodungallur (; formerly also called as Cranganore (anglicised name), Portuguese language, Portuguese: Cranganor; Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of Per ...

, was built around the temple; it was protected by high fortifications on all sides and had extensive pathways and palaces. This temple was attacked and damaged during

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

's invasion of Kerala; the copper roofing, gold and jewels were looted. Tipu's

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

soldiers fled the temple complex only after the arrival of the Travancore Army of Dalawa Keshavadas Pillai. The temple was rebuilt by Paliath Achan of the Paliam Swaroopam.

Architecture

The temple is built in Kerala style of architecture with entrance towers in all four sides. The sanctum occupies the centre portion of the temple, which is fortified. The sanctum is approached through a flagstaff, which is axial to the entrance tower and the sanctum. The flagstaff has images of Asthavidyesavara. The presiding deity is in the form of

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 ...

. The image of

Narasimha Narasimha (, , or , ), is the fourth avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Satya Yuga. He incarnated as a part-lion, part-man and killed Hiranyakashipu, ended religious persecution and calamity on earth, and restored dharma. Narasimha has th ...

is sculpted on the vimana. The images of Sundarar and Ceramanperuman are maintained at Bhagavathi temple and brought to the temple during Svati festival during July - August. There are two temple tanks in the temple, located in the second precinct.

Religious importance and festivals

It is believed that it the temple where Parasurama, an avatar of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, worshiped Shiva to expiate his sin killing his mother Renuka. Sundarar, a 7th-century Tamil ''Saivite'' poet, venerated Mahadeva in ten verses in ''

'', compiled as the '' Seventh Tirumurai''. As the temple is revered in ''Tevaram'', it is classified as '' Paadal Petra Sthalam'', one of the 276 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon. The temple is believed to be the place where Sundarar and king Cheraman spent their last days and believed to have ascended to Kailasa in a white elephant. The temple priests perform the '' puja'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The temple rituals are performed four times a day; ''Kalasanthi'' at 8:00 a.m., ''Uchikalam'' at 12:00 a.m. and ''Sayarakshai'' at 6:00 p.m. There are weekly rituals like ' (Monday) and ' (Friday), fortnightly rituals like '' pradosham'', and monthly festivals like '' amavasai'' (new moon day), ''kiruthigai'', '' pournami'' (full moon day) and ''sathurthi''. Brahmotsavam during the Malayalam month of ''Edavam'' (May - June) is the most important festivals of the temple.

References

Photogallery

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