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
Kodungallur Sree Kurumba Bhagavathy Temple
Sree Kurumba Bhagavathy Temple at Kodungallur is dedicated to Bhadrakali, lovingly called Kodungallur Amma. Legend says Parashurama, troubled by the demon Darika, prayed to Shiva,...
Koodalmanikyam Temple
Koodalmanikyam Temple at Irinjalakuda is the only ancient temple in India dedicated to Bharata, Rama's brother. A stone inscription of the Chera king Sthanu Ravi, dated to 854–55 C...
Thiruvambady Sree Krishna Temple
Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple in Thrissur worships Krishna as a child together with Bhadrakali, both held in equal regard. The compound also has shrines for Ganesha, Sastha and B...
Paramekkavu Bhagavathy Temple
Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple is one of the largest Bhagavathy temples in Kerala, standing in the heart of Thrissur near Vadakkunnathan. Sakthan Thampuran organised the temples of t...
Vadakkunnathan Temple
Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur is a classical example of Kerala temple architecture, with a monumental tower on each side and a koothambalam for performances. Its murals depict...
Thrikkakara Vamana Moorthy Temple
Thrikkakara Vamanamoorthy Temple near Kochi is one of the major temples dedicated to Vamana, Vishnu's dwarf avatar, and is around two millennia old. It is counted among the 108 Div...
Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple
Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple at Thrippunithura, near Kochi, worships Vishnu as Santhanagopala Murthy, a form believed to bless childless couples with children. The deity was the fam...
Mangaladevi Temple, Thekkady
Mangala Devi Kannagi Temple stands high in the hills near Thekkady, close to the Tamil Nadu border and inside the Periyar region. It is dedicated to Kannagi, the heroine of the Sil...
Kumaranalloor Devi Temple
Kumaranalloor Devi Temple, a short drive from Kottayam, is one of central Kerala's best-loved Bhagavathy shrines. The goddess is worshipped as Katyayani, a fierce form of Parvati,...