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
Thrikkadavoor Sree Krishna Swamy Temple
Thrikkadavoor Sree Mahadeva Temple in Kollam district is one of the 108 Shiva temples of Kerala, administered by the Travancore Devaswom Board and known for its golden flagstaff an...
Kulathupuzha Sree Dharma Sastha Temple
Kulathupuzha Sastha Temple in Kollam district is one of the five great Sastha shrines of Kerala, along with Aryankavu, Achankovil, Sabarimala and Kanthamala. Its idol is said to be...
Ochira Parabrahma Temple
Ochira Parabrahma Temple, on the Kollam–Alappuzha border, is unusual in Kerala for worshipping the formless Parabrahma rather than an installed idol. It is counted among the state'...
Kottarakkara Sree Mahaganapathy Temple
Kottarakkara Sree Mahaganapathy Kshethram is best known for its shrine of Mahaganapathy, though the temple's principal deity is Shiva. The complex also honours Parvati, Murugan, Ay...
Neyyattinkara Sree Krishna Swamy Temple
Neyyattinkara Sree Krishna Swami Temple, south of Thiruvananthapuram, enshrines Krishna as Unnikannan in the Navaneetha Krishna form, holding butter. The temple is believed to have...
Karikkakom Chamundi Devi Temple
Karikkakom Sree Chamundi Devi Temple in Thiruvananthapuram is more than six centuries old and enshrines a panchaloha image of Karikkakathamma, worshipped in three forms — Maha Cham...
Vellayani Devi Temple
Vellayani Devi Temple near Thiruvananthapuram, on the eastern bank of Vellayani lake, is a highly revered Bhadrakali shrine under the Travancore Devaswom Board. Its rituals preserv...
Sarkara Devi Temple
Sarkaradevi Temple at Chirayinkeezhu in Thiruvananthapuram district is dedicated to Bhadrakali and has a long association with the Attingal royal house. The Attingal Ranis, linked...
Janardanaswamy Temple, Varkala
Janardanaswamy Temple at Varkala, near Thiruvananthapuram, worships Vishnu as Janardana, the lord of the people, and is also known locally as Varkaleswara. The shrine is believed t...