Stories of gods and temples.
The origin stories of Kerala's deities and the histories of its temples — legends of creation and courage, of saints and rulers, and of the shrines that keep them alive.
Stories of the gods
Shiva
When Brahma and Vishnu quarrelled over who was supreme, Shiva appeared between them as a pillar of fire without beginning or end, and neither could find its limit. During the churn...
Vishnu
Vishnu is the preserver of the cosmos, the deity who sustains dharma whenever it declines. He reclines on the serpent Ananta in the milky ocean and returns to the world in avatar a...
Krishna
Born to Devaki and Vasudeva in a prison cell and raised by Yashoda and Nanda in Gokul, Krishna grew up as the playful cowherd of Vrindavan. He defeated the tyrant Kamsa, guided the...
Rama
Rama, prince of Ayodhya, accepted fourteen years of exile to honour his father's word. With Sita and Lakshmana he lived in the forest, where Ravana carried Sita away to Lanka. Aide...
Narasimha
Hiranyakashipu won a boon that made him almost invincible: he could not be killed by god or man, inside or outside, by day or night. When he tormented his own son Prahlada for wors...
Venkateswara
Venkateswara is the form of Vishnu enshrined on the Tirumala hills in Andhra Pradesh, revered across South India as the lord of the seven hills. The temple tradition tells of Srini...
Lakshmi
Lakshmi emerged from the churning of the milky ocean seated on a lotus and chose Vishnu as her consort, bringing abundance to the three worlds. She is honoured as the goddess of pr...
Durga
When the buffalo demon Mahishasura could not be defeated by the gods, their combined energies took the shape of Durga, who rode a lion and battled him for nine nights, slaying him...
Kali
Kali sprang from the brow of the goddess to defeat the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha, and her wild dance afterwards threatened to shake the world. Shiva lay beneath her feet to calm...
Temple histories
Thirunakkara Mahadeva Temple
Thirunakkara Sree Mahadevar Temple in Kottayam is one of the 108 revered Shivalayas of Kerala. The temple is believed to have been built by a Thekkumkur maharaja around the 16th ce...
Kaduthuruthy Mahadeva Temple
Kaduthuruthy in Kottayam district is home to one of central Kerala's major Mahadeva temples. Tradition groups it with Vaikom and Ettumanoor as three lingas said to have been instal...
Vaikom Mahadeva Temple
Vaikom Sree Mahadeva Temple in Kottayam district is one of Kerala's major Shiva temples and is unique for its oval sanctum, roofed with copper sheets. Tradition groups it with Ettu...
Kandiyoor Mahadeva Temple
Kandiyoor Sree Mahadeva Temple near Mavelikkara stands on the Achankovil river, in a region that was once the capital of the Odanadu kingdom. It is counted among the 108 great Shiv...
Evoor Sree Krishnaswamy Temple
Evoor Major Sreekrishnaswamy Temple near Haripad traces its origin to the Khandava forest episode of the Mahabharata. Agni, unable to digest the ghee he had consumed, was advised t...
Mullackal Rajarajeswari Temple
Mullakkal Rajarajeswari Temple in Alappuzha is about five centuries old and takes its name from the jasmine — mullai — that once grew around it. The grounds are still filled with j...
Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple
Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple near Haripad is Kerala's foremost serpent shrine, set in a forest grove and filled with tens of thousands of snake images offered by devotees. The...
Kaviyoor Mahadeva Temple
Kaviyoor Mahadevar Temple near Thiruvalla enshrines Shiva with Parvati and is counted among Kerala's important Shivalayas. Its compound also holds a famous Hanuman shrine.Legend sa...
Sree Vallabha Temple, Thiruvalla
Sreevallabha Temple at Thiruvalla is one of Kerala's oldest and largest temples and one of the 108 Divya Desams. Its deity, Sreevallabha, is Vishnu as the consort of Sree, or Laksh...