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
Bhadrakali
In the Devi Mahatmya tradition the Goddess manifests as Bhadrakali to slay the asura Darika, whose boon made him invulnerable to all male beings. Kerala retells the Darika Vadham i...
Muthappan
Tradition tells of a boy found and raised by a humble couple who was later recognised as the presence of Shiva and Vishnu. He wandered as a hunter and ascetic with his dogs, breaki...
Nagaraja
The serpents Ananta, Vasuki and Takshaka belong to the race of Nagas who dwell in Patala and serve as the couch of Vishnu. In Kerala the Naga deities are believed to guard ancestra...
Vishnumaya Kuttichathan
Tradition holds that Vishnumaya was born to Shiva and Parvati and took the form of a child to defeat the asura Bhrugasura through illusion, or maya. In northern Malabar he is linke...
Mariamman
Mariamman is honoured as the goddess who cools the heat of summer and wards off epidemics. Her shrines stand at the edge of the village, where she guards the settlement, and her fe...
Chamundi
When the asuras Chanda and Munda attacked the Goddess, she manifested from her brow as Kali and destroyed them, earning the name Chamundi. In Kerala her shrines often stand on hill...
Vettakkorumakan
When Shiva assumed the form of a Kirata, a hunter, and Parvati joined him in the forest, their son Vettakkorumakan was born. Shiva gave him a churika, the curved sword, and sent hi...
Yakshi
In Kerala folklore Yakshis are otherworldly beings who dwell in banyan and pala trees. A Yakshi honoured with lamps and offerings becomes a benevolent guardian; neglected, she is f...
Muchilottu Bhagavathi
Muchilottu Bhagavathi is remembered as a learned girl of Perinchellur who was humiliated in a challenge of scholarship and later revealed as divine. She is the tutelary goddess of...
Temple histories
Avanavanchery Sri Indilayappan Temple
Avanavanchery Sri Indilayappan Temple near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram district is counted among the oldest temples of Kerala. The presiding deity is Indilayappan, identified in...
Chathannoor Sree Bhoothanatha Temple
Chathannoor Sree Bhoothanatha Temple in Kollam district is one of the largest temples of its kind in the region and shares a long festival tradition with the adjoining Meenadu Sast...
Ammathiruvadi Temple
Ammathiruvadi Temple at Urakam near Thrissur is one of the foremost Durga temples of Kerala and is counted first among the 108 Durgaalayams of the old Kerala tradition. Its age is...
Thiruvanchikulam Mahadeva Temple
Thiruvanchikulam Siva Temple at Kodungallur in Thrissur district is believed to have been built in the Chera period and is a classical example of Kerala temple architecture. Shiva...
Kottiyoor Temple
Kottiyoor Temple in Kannur district is a Shiva shrine of unusual form, with two temples on opposite banks of the Vavali river. The permanent complex, Vadakkeshwaram or Ikkare Kotti...
Jagannath Temple, Thalassery
The Shree Jagannatha Temple at Thalassery in Kannur district was established by Sree Narayana Guru in 1908, making it one of the later great temples of Malabar. A statue of the gur...
Haripad Sree Subrahmanya Swamy temple
The Sree Subrahmanya Swamy Temple at Haripad, known as Perumthrikkovil or Kerala Palani, is one of the oldest and largest temples of the region and holds the longest golden flagsta...
Erumely Sree Dharmasastha Temple
Erumely Sree Dharmasastha Temple stands in the heart of Erumely town in Kottayam district and is dedicated to Ayyappa, or Dharma Sastha. It is one of the key staging points of the...
Elamgulam Sree Dharma Sastha Temple
Elamgulam Sree Dharma Sastha Temple stands on the Main Eastern Highway in Kottayam district and is best known for its Gajamela and Aanayoottu, when around fifteen elephants are bro...