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
Chakkulathukavu Temple
Chakkulathukavu is one of Alappuzha district's most visited shrines. Women devotees gather in large numbers for the Nari Pooja, and the temple's annual festival draws pilgrims from...
Madhur Sree Madanantheshwara Siddhivinayaka Temple
Madhur Temple near Kasaragod, on the Madhuvahini river, honours Shiva as Madanantheshwara but is best known for its Ganapathy shrine. Tradition says an elderly woman named Madaru f...
Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathy Temple
Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathy Temple near Valapattanam enshrines the fierce form of Bhadrakali and is honoured as the mother of Kalaripayattu, the martial art of Kerala. The name is l...
Peralassery Sree Subrahmanya Temple
Peralassery, on the Anjarakandy river in Kannur district, is home to the well-known Sree Subrahmanya Temple. The shrine has long been a centre of devotion for the surrounding villa...
Trichambaram Sree Krishna Temple
Trichambaram Temple at Taliparamba in Kannur district enshrines Krishna in a fierce posture after the slaying of Kamsa. The temple is listed among the Abhimana Kshethrams, the hono...
Rajarajeshwara Temple, Taliparamba
Rajarajeshwara Temple at Taliparamba in Kannur district is one of the 108 ancient Shiva temples of Kerala. Tradition credits its founding to Parashurama, with Vishwakarma as archit...
Parassinikadavu Muthappan Temple
Parassini Madappura Sree Muthappan Temple at Parassinikadavu, on the Valapattanam river in Kannur, worships Muthappan, a deity who combines aspects of Shiva and Vishnu. The temple...
Thirunelli Maha Vishnu Temple
Thirunelli Temple lies on the slope of Brahmagiri in Wayanad, close to the Karnataka border and about 900 metres above sea level. It is dedicated to Maha Vishnu and counted among t...
Valayanad Devi Temple
Sree Valayanad Devi Temple near Kozhikode is the family deity of the Zamorin kings. The goddess is worshipped as Bhagavathy, and the shrine is closely tied to the political and dev...