Mahadevar Temple

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The Ettumaanur Mahadevar temple is one of the most celebrated Shiva

temples in Kerala, and is on the south of Kottayam.

 

 

Legend has it that Khara (of the Khara Dhooshana demon duo) of Ramayana

worshipped Shiva at Chidambaram and obtained from him three Shivalingams and

journeyed holding one shivalingam on each hand and one in his mouth. He

sojourned at Vaikom, and set the shivalingam that he was holding in his mouth

on the ground and to his dismay realized that it had gotten rooted to the

ground. Kharan therefore installed the other two shivalingams at Ettumanur and

Kaduthuruthy. Both these places are at equal distance from Vaikom; as each arm

is at equal distance from the mouth..It is believed that visiting these triad of

temples in a single day is of great significance.

 

 

 

Legend also has it that Khara installed an image of Krishna in the north

western corner of this temple.

 

 

There are several other legends associated with this shrine. Legend has it

that Shiva created a deer and set it to play in an island; when Parasurama

reclaimed land from the sea, this island is said to have become part of what is

Kerala now. The isle of the deer is referred to as Harinadweepa. The malayalam

word for deer is Maan, and hence this place came to be known as Maanoor.

 

 

The temple: The west facing temple here has a circular sanctum covered with a

conical copper plated roof crowned with a kalsam. The mukhamandapam in front of

the temple bears two images of Nandi, one of stone and another of metal.

Although there is no shrine to Parvati, the rear of the sanctum is revered as

Parvati's shrine.

 

 

 

There are also shrines to Saasta, Ganapati and Dakshinamurthy in the temple.

A golden staff, visible from a distance is in front of the shrine.

At the entrance to the temple is a large metal lamp; visitors make offerings

of oil and the soot that collects from the burning of the oil is believed to

have medicinal value.

 

 

 

The 10 day long festival in the malayala month of Kumbham concluding on the

Ardra asterism is the temple's annual festival.

 

On the eigth day of the festival, the processional image of the deity is taken

to a specially decorated site in the north east corner of the temple, when

thousands throng to visit the shrine.

 

 

On this day, a unique treasure of the temple (offered by the Maharaja of

Travancore) - the seven and a half elephants (ezhara pon aana) representing the

eight dik paalakas or the guardians of the cardinal directions are displayed.

Seven of these golden elephants are two feet in height while the eighth is a

foot high.

 

 

 

 

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