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
Bhagavathi
Bhagavathi is the mother goddess honoured across Kerala in her many forms — Bhadrakali, Durga, Kali and the countless village deities who protect the land and its people. The word...
Parvati
Daughter of the mountain king Himavan, Parvati performed severe penance to win Shiva, who had withdrawn into grief after Sati. Their marriage is celebrated as the union of matter a...
Saraswati
Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, speech, music and learning, seated on a white lotus with a veena in her hands. As the river Saraswati faded from the earth, the goddess withd...
Murugan
Born to Shiva and Parvati, Skanda was raised by the Krittikas and by the fire, and grew into the youthful commander of the divine army. With his vel, the spear of divine wisdom, he...
Ayyappa
Manikandan, the son of Shiva and Vishnu as Mohini, was adopted by the Pandala king and saved the kingdom from the demoness Mahishi. He then withdrew to Sabarimala, where he blesses...
Hanuman
Hanuman, the son of the wind, leapt the ocean to Lanka, found Sita, carried the Sanjivani mountain to save Lakshmana and served Rama with perfect devotion. His strength is always o...
Ganesha
Parvati created Ganesha from clay to guard her door. When Shiva returned and did not recognise the boy, he cut off his head in anger, then restored him with the head of an elephant...
Subrahmanya
Subrahmanya received the vel from his mother Parvati and led the divine army against Surapadma. The demon's defeat is celebrated in the Skanda Purana, and the spear remains the god...
Dattatreya
Anasuya, wife of the sage Atri, pleased the Trimurti by her devotion, and they were born to her as the single child Dattatreya. He grew up as a wandering avadhuta, and the traditio...
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...