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
Thirupaal Kadal Sreekrishnaswami Temple
The central icon is a four-armed standing Vishnu holding the conch, discus, mace and lotus. The temple is counted among the early Vaishnava shrines of south Kerala.
Pazhaya SreekanteswaraTemple
Historian Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai held that the temple has existed since at least 1000 AD. It is the original abode of the deity later installed at the new Sreekanteswaram Mahadeva...
thripayya temple
The four-armed Rama holds a conch, discus, bow and garland. The temple stands on the river bank at Triprayar and is a major centre of the Thrissur temple festivals.
Mitranandapuram Trimurthi Temple
Mithrananthapuram is one of the few Kerala temples with shrines to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva together, making it a distinctive stop on the Thiruvananthapuram temple circuit.
Valliyoorkkavu
Valliyoorkkavu is the most important temple of the Wayanad tribal and farming communities. Its long annual festival is one of the biggest in the district.
Sree Shivashakthi Mahaganapathi temple
The temple brings the Shaiva family deities together in one compound and serves the villages of the Chenkal belt.
Mukkolakkal Bhagawathi Temple
Mukkolakkal Bhagawathi Temple is an old city shrine whose annual festival is part of the Sreevaraham temple calendar.
Gandhari Amman Kovil
The compound also houses shrines to Ganesha, Muruga, the Naga Devathas, Bhairavar and the Navagrahas. Chithra Poornima is among its important observances.
Padiyannor Devi Temple
Padiyanoor Sree Chamundi Devi Temple is one of the older Devi shrines of the Kattakada countryside and keeps a traditional annual festival.