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Daughter of the mountain king Himavan, Parvati performed severe penance to win Shiva, who had withdrawn into grief after Sati.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
Pazhavangadi Ganapathy Temple
Pazhavangadi Maha Ganapathy Temple stands at East Fort in central Thiruvananthapuram, close to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The deity is Ganesha seated with one leg folded, and the...
Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple
Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram is one of the 108 Divya Desams, dedicated to Vishnu reclining on the serpent Anantha. The shrine is praised in the Divya Prabandha...
Ettumanoor Mahadeva Temple
Ettumanoor Mahadevar Temple in Kottayam is among Kerala's major Shiva temples, grouped in tradition with Vaikom and Kaduthuruthy. Its name is traced to a deer — 'man' — that is sai...
Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa Temple
Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple in the Western Ghats is Kerala's greatest pilgrimage centre, where Ayyappa is worshipped as an eternal brahmachari, the son of Shiva and Mohini...
Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple
Guruvayur Temple in Thrissur district enshrines Guruvayurappan, a form of Krishna-Vishnu, and is one of the most visited shrines in Kerala. The Gurupavanapura Mahatmya of the Narad...
Ananthapura Lake Temple
Ananthapura in Kasaragod is Kerala's only lake temple, set in the middle of a tank and dedicated to Anantha Padmanabhaswamy. Tradition holds that this was the original seat of the...
Arattupuzha Sree Sastha Temple
Arattupuzha Sastha Temple, near Thrissur, claims an antiquity of some three thousand years and is best known for its Devamela, a festival in which gods and goddesses are believed t...
Aluva Mahadeva Temple
Aluva Mahadeva Temple stands on the sandy manappuram of the Periyar river near Kochi, with Shiva facing east. It is counted among the 108 Shivalayas of Kerala, and folklore credits...
Chottanikkara Bhagavathy Temple
Chottanikkara Bhagavathy Temple, near Ernakulam, worships the Divine Mother as Rajarajeswari. She is adored in three moods through the day — as Saraswati in the morning, Lakshmi at...