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
Sree Sundareshwara Temple
It is one of two prominent temples in Kannur district consecrated by Sree Narayana Guru, the other being the Jagannatha Temple at Thalassery. The shrine lies about two kilometres f...
Vadeshwaram Temple
The temple sits on a hill that resembles a mountain, which gives the shrine its local name. It is one of the better-known Shiva temples of north Kerala.
Sree Andalurkavu
Andalurkavu is a prominent Thiyya family shrine and ritual centre. Its main festival falls in the first week of the Malayalam month of Kumbham.
Puthoorppilli Sreekrishnaswami Temple
Puthoorppilly Sreekrishna Temple is a protected monument of the Kerala State Department of Archaeology, valued for its surviving wooden structure and mural work.
Oorpazhachi Kavu
The kavu is an important ritual space in the Edakkad grama panchayat, where theyyam performances keep the region's folk worship alive.
Madai Vadukunda Shiva Temple
Local tradition credits the Kolathiri kings with building the shrine in the Middle Ages. It stands on Madayipara, a plateau famous for its seasonal wildflowers and archaeological r...
Kunnathoor Padi
Kunnathoor Padi is regarded as the original Aroodam of Muthappan. The remote hill shrine is visited by pilgrims who trek through the Western Ghats forests, especially during the an...
Karivellur Mahadeva Temple
The temple was formerly under the Chitrakkal Kovilakam and remains a major shrine for the villages around Payyanur.
Karikkode Bhagavathy Temple
The shrine serves the farming villages of the Thodupuzha countryside and retains its traditional annual festival.