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
Dakshina Mookambika Temple, North Paravur
Dakshina Mookambika Temple at North Paravur in Ernakulam district is a southern seat of the goddess Mookambika of Kollur. The sanctum stands in the middle of a lotus pool, and the...
Cochin Thirumala Devaswom
Cochin Thirumala Devaswom, also called Gosripuram, is the principal religious institution of the Gowda Saraswat Brahmin community of Kerala. It stands in the Cherlai quarter of Mat...
Cherthala Karthyayani Temple
Karthyayani Devi Temple at Cherthala in Alappuzha district is one of the famous Devi shrines of the Kerala coast. The goddess is honoured as Mangalya Dayini, the giver of auspiciou...
Chengannur Mahadeva Temple
Chengannur Mahadeva Temple in Alappuzha district is one of the great Shiva temples of Kerala, counted alongside Ettumanoor, Kaduthuruthy, Vaikom, Ernakulam and Vadakkunnathan. Shiv...
Chakkamkulangara Siva Temple
Chakkamkulangara Siva Temple at Thrippunithura in Ernakulam district is an ancient Shiva shrine, more than a thousand years old and built in the Kerala-Dravidian style. Parvati is...
Aryankavu Sastha Temple
Aryankavu Sastha Temple stands near the Tamil Nadu border in Kollam district, one of the five principal Shasta temples of Kerala. The name is read as the sacred grove of the Arya,...
Annapurneshwari Temple, Cherukunnu
Annapoorneshwari Temple at Cherukunnu in Kannur district is dedicated to Annapurna, the goddess of food, and is unusual in keeping Krishna as a co-deity in the same shrine. The sit...
Achankovil Sastha Temple
Achankovil Sastha Temple lies on the banks of the Achankovil river in Kollam district and is one of the five major Shasta temples of Kerala, with Kulathupuzha, Aryankavu, Sabarimal...
Ernakulathappan Temple
Ernakulam Shiva Temple, known to devotees as Ernakulathappan, is regarded as the guardian deity of Kochi. The temple's traditions are linked to the Cheranalloor Kartha family, and...