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
Kurumba Bhagavathi
The Kodungallur temple, linked in local tradition with the Chera capital and with Kannaki of the Silappathikaram, holds the goddess as Kurumba, the fierce mother. Her Bharani festi...
Karthyayani
Karthyayani is the form of Durga born to the sage Katyayana, invoked in the Devi Mahatmya as the slayer of the buffalo demon Mahisha. She is the sixth of the Navadurgas and is wors...
Bhuvaneshwari
As the fourth Mahavidya, Bhuvaneshwari is the cosmic mother whose form contains all the worlds. She is worshipped with the Sri Yantra and the sounds of the three bijas, and is hono...
Rajarajeshwari
As Lalita, the goddess arose from the fire of the churning of the ocean and defeated Bhandasura with her Sri Chakra army. At Chottanikkara she is worshipped in both her fierce and...
Mookambika
The Kollur temple tradition tells of the goddess who killed the demon Mookasura and who blessed Adi Shankara. She is worshipped as a form of Parvati and as the source of the arts a...
Vanadurga
In Kerala's kavu tradition, Durga is honoured in her forest form at groves that are left uncut and protected. She guards the boundary between the village and the wild, and her wors...
Karinkali
Karinkali is honoured as Bhadrakali in her darkest aspect. At Kannenkavu in Malappuram, the Karinkali Pooram gathers ritual dancers painted black, embodying the goddess's furious p...
Karuppaswamy
Karuppu is honoured as a warrior guardian who stands at the entrance of the village and the temple, armed with a sword and a whip. In the Tamil and Kerala border traditions he is o...
Vamana
When Mahabali's rule became too proud, Vishnu took birth as the dwarf Vamana and asked for three paces of land. With two steps he covered earth and heaven, and with the third he pr...
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...