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
Gandharva
In the Puranas the Gandharvas are the heavenly singers who play for the gods. In Kerala's groves they are honoured as nature spirits, and shrines to Gandharva and Yakshi are found...
Bhairava
When Brahma's fifth head grew arrogant, Shiva cut it off and was afflicted with the sin of Brahmanahatya. He wandered as Bhairava until the sin was released in Kashi, where he beca...
Veerabhadra
When Sati immolated herself at Daksha's yajna, Shiva tore a lock from his hair and created Veerabhadra, who destroyed the sacrifice and subdued the gods assembled there. He is wors...
Andal
Kodhai, a foundling raised in Srivilliputhur, grew up in devotion to Ranganatha and insisted on marrying him. She merged with the deity and became Andal, she who ruled the Lord, an...
Duryodhana
Duryodhana was the eldest of the hundred Kauravas, the sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari. His jealousy of his Pandava cousins shaped the rivalry that led to t...
Brahma
Brahma is the creator of the Trimurti, the trinity he shares with Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the dissolver. Puranic tradition describes him emerging from the golden egg Hiranya...
Gandhari Amman
Gandhari, princess of Gandhara, was married to the blind prince Dhritarashtra and blindfolded herself for life in solidarity with him. Through a boon she became the mother of a hun...
Bhoothanatha
Bhoothanatha means the lord of the bhootas, the hosts of spirits that attend Shiva. In Kerala the name is given to Shiva in his role as guardian of the sacred ground, and the deity...
Indilayappan
Indilayappan is the presiding deity of the ancient Avanavanchery temple near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram district. Temple tradition identifies him with Shiva and Umamaheswara, a...
Temple histories
Chettikulangara Devi Temple
Chettikulangara Sree Bhagavathi Temple near Mavelikkara enshrines Bhadrakali and is one of central Kerala's most popular Devi shrines. One tradition says local chieftains, humiliat...
Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Temple
Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Temple was built in the 15th century by the Chembakasserry ruler Devanarayanan Thampuran and is counted among the seven great temples of old Travancore. T...
Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple
Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple on the Pamba river is dedicated to Krishna as Parthasarathy, Arjuna's charioteer, and is one of the 108 Divya Desams. Legend connects it to the Pandav...
Asramam Sree Krishna Temple
Asramam Sree Krishna Swamy Temple stands on the shore of Ashtamudi lake in Kollam and enshrines Krishna as Navaneetakrishna, the child holding butter. The shrine sits on a small mo...
Aazhimala Shiva Temple
Aazhimala is a coastal Shiva temple near Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram district, built in a style close to Tamil temple architecture. Fishermen and coastal families have long wor...
Attukal Bhagavathy Temple
Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram is dedicated to Bhadrakali, identified by devotees with Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic Silappatikaram. Legend tells of a rad...
Shri Padmanabha Demo Temple
Shri Padmanabha Demo Temple is a centuries-old shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu in Anantha Shayana posture.