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
Thirupaal Kadal Sreekrishnaswami Temple
The central icon is a four-armed standing Vishnu holding the conch, discus, mace and lotus. The temple is counted among the early Vaishnava shrines of south Kerala.
Pazhaya SreekanteswaraTemple
Historian Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai held that the temple has existed since at least 1000 AD. It is the original abode of the deity later installed at the new Sreekanteswaram Mahadeva...
thripayya temple
The four-armed Rama holds a conch, discus, bow and garland. The temple stands on the river bank at Triprayar and is a major centre of the Thrissur temple festivals.
Mitranandapuram Trimurthi Temple
Mithrananthapuram is one of the few Kerala temples with shrines to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva together, making it a distinctive stop on the Thiruvananthapuram temple circuit.
Valliyoorkkavu
Valliyoorkkavu is the most important temple of the Wayanad tribal and farming communities. Its long annual festival is one of the biggest in the district.
Sree Shivashakthi Mahaganapathi temple
The temple brings the Shaiva family deities together in one compound and serves the villages of the Chenkal belt.
Mukkolakkal Bhagawathi Temple
Mukkolakkal Bhagawathi Temple is an old city shrine whose annual festival is part of the Sreevaraham temple calendar.
Gandhari Amman Kovil
The compound also houses shrines to Ganesha, Muruga, the Naga Devathas, Bhairavar and the Navagrahas. Chithra Poornima is among its important observances.
Padiyannor Devi Temple
Padiyanoor Sree Chamundi Devi Temple is one of the older Devi shrines of the Kattakada countryside and keeps a traditional annual festival.