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
Veda Vyasa
Vyasa, also called Krishna Dvaipayana, is the sage who divided the single Veda into the Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas so that its knowledge could be preserved and taught. Trad...
Dhanwanthari
Dhanvantari is the physician of the gods and an avatar of Vishnu, and the tradition of Ayurveda honours him as its divine source. During the churning of the Ocean of Milk he rose f...
Abhimanyu
Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, and while still in his mother's womb he learned how to enter the Chakravyuha, the wheel formation of the Kaurava army. On the thirteen...
garuda
Garuda, the king of birds, is the son of the sage Kashyapa and Vinata. When his mother was enslaved through a wager with her sister Kadru, Garuda flew to the heavens, defeated the...
Temple histories
Thirunakkara Mahadeva Temple
Thirunakkara Sree Mahadevar Temple in Kottayam is one of the 108 revered Shivalayas of Kerala. The temple is believed to have been built by a Thekkumkur maharaja around the 16th ce...
Kaduthuruthy Mahadeva Temple
Kaduthuruthy in Kottayam district is home to one of central Kerala's major Mahadeva temples. Tradition groups it with Vaikom and Ettumanoor as three lingas said to have been instal...
Vaikom Mahadeva Temple
Vaikom Sree Mahadeva Temple in Kottayam district is one of Kerala's major Shiva temples and is unique for its oval sanctum, roofed with copper sheets. Tradition groups it with Ettu...
Kandiyoor Mahadeva Temple
Kandiyoor Sree Mahadeva Temple near Mavelikkara stands on the Achankovil river, in a region that was once the capital of the Odanadu kingdom. It is counted among the 108 great Shiv...
Evoor Sree Krishnaswamy Temple
Evoor Major Sreekrishnaswamy Temple near Haripad traces its origin to the Khandava forest episode of the Mahabharata. Agni, unable to digest the ghee he had consumed, was advised t...
Mullackal Rajarajeswari Temple
Mullakkal Rajarajeswari Temple in Alappuzha is about five centuries old and takes its name from the jasmine — mullai — that once grew around it. The grounds are still filled with j...
Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple
Mannarasala Sree Nagaraja Temple near Haripad is Kerala's foremost serpent shrine, set in a forest grove and filled with tens of thousands of snake images offered by devotees. The...
Kaviyoor Mahadeva Temple
Kaviyoor Mahadevar Temple near Thiruvalla enshrines Shiva with Parvati and is counted among Kerala's important Shivalayas. Its compound also holds a famous Hanuman shrine.Legend sa...
Sree Vallabha Temple, Thiruvalla
Sreevallabha Temple at Thiruvalla is one of Kerala's oldest and largest temples and one of the 108 Divya Desams. Its deity, Sreevallabha, is Vishnu as the consort of Sree, or Laksh...