Sasthakotta Dharma Sastha

Sasthakotta Dharma Sastha

Compiled  By

P.R.Ramachander

  It is  another very famous  ancient Sastha temples of Kerala. The temple is surrounded by fresh water (sasthamkotta lake) lake on all three sides(The biggest fresh water lake of Kerala)   and  hill with dense forest on the other side .A small  town called Sasthamkotta has come up near  these forests.

Shri Dharma Sastha temple is built in Kerala style of architecture  and was built by the  Pandalam family .Sasthamcotta is a well historic place where the Second World Religion Conference was held in 1971, in which the Global Religious Celebrities participated.

Sasthamcotta is well connected with the other parts of Kerala by road and rail. The National Highway (NH 47) passes through Karunagapally and Chavara. Both these towns are just 12 km from Sasthamcotta. Two other important places on MC Road (SH 1) that connect to Sasthamcotta are Adoor and Kottarakara; both approximately 18 km away.  

Kerala Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) plies regular bus services to this place from Kollam, Karunagapally, Kottarakara, Adoor and Pathanamthitta. KSRTC also runs regular services to Pampa via Sasthamcotta during the Sabarimala season. 

Sasthamcotta has a small railway station about 4 km from Sasthamcotta town. Karunagappally railway station is about 12 km from Sasthamcotta. Kollam Junction and Kayamkulam Junction are the two major railway stations close to Sasthamcotta.

Folklore has that the idol consecrated at Sasthamcotta temple is none other than the swayambhu idol worshipped by Lord Ram during his trip to Lanka (Sri Lanka) in search of his consort, Sita. It seems   Lord Rama when he was going from Sri Lanka to Ayodhya visited this place , It is  believed that, Lord Rama offered ‘pithru tharpan’ on the banks of the Sasthamcotta Lake and he deputed the chief architect of his vanara (monkey) team, ‘Neelan’ to serve his host. Neelan is believed to be the predecessor of the monkey clan in this temple.It is also believed  that  Lord Hanuman when he was searching for  Sita has visited this place , There is  also a prathishta  of Ganesa  in this temple.

    This temple has very large number   of monkeys roaming all round it. The monkeys that once colonised the surrounding woods were believed to be followers of the prime diety, Dharmasastha, and hence, are revered by devotees. Thousands of devotees visiting the temple feed these monkeys with nuts and fruits.

 A few years ago, the monkeys began to face shortage of food and they began to snatch food from visitors to the temple and children going to nearby schools and colleges. The Courts then ordered the Devaswom (Temple) Board to make arrangements to feed the monkeys of the temple adequately. The Board, being short of funds, sought support from well-wishers of the temple but adequate funds were not forthcoming. Mr Gopala B. Pillai, founder and president of Wild Republic, and a native of Sasthamkotta, heard about this dilemma and offered to set up a Trust Fund jointly with the Devaswom Board to ensure perpetual feeding of the monkeys. This was achieved in 1996 and since then the monkeys of the temple have never been in want of food. On local festival days, when people feast at home, the Trust arranges a similar feast for the monkeys of the temple also.

 The presiding deity of the temple is  , Shri Dharma Sastha who is accompanied by his consort 'Prabha' and son 'Sathyaka'.

The highlight of this temple is the 10 day annual festival the month of Kumbham (February-March). The festival includes the colourful Kettukazhcha procession of various bullocks, horses, decorated chariots, folk art performances etc. Various folk arts such as Mayilattam, Kaala (bull motif), Kuthira (horse motif), Ammankudam are performed. The festival concludes with the Arattu ceremony, five caparisoned elephants take part in a procession held at midnight. Another important festival is Shiva Prathishta Vaarshikom which is held in Atham in the Malayalam month of Edavam (May-June).

Entry is restriceted to Hindus.

Sasthamcotta Neelakandan                                                                                                                                                

Sasthamcotta Neelakandan is the elephant at Sasthamcotta Temple (Sasthamcotta Manikandan was the first elephant at the temple. Sasthamcotta Manikandan passed away in the year 1999). Neelakandan is the vital part of Sasthamcotta temple. He carries the deity of the Lord Dharmasastha during annual festival processions and ceremonial circumambulations in the temple. Nelakandan is donated by Sri. Ajith Kumar, who is a well known business man in the UAE, as his offering.

Sasthamcotta Sree Dharma Sastha Temple is open from 4:30 AM to 11:30 AM and from 5 PM to 7:45 PM

THakazhy Dharma Sastha Temple

Temple   where you can get a medicinal  oil called Valiyenna  , which is a medicine  for diseases   affecting manhood.

THakazhy  Dharma Sastha  Temple

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

(You can see a  video about this great temple https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4czPyzq2LkA)

  THakazhy the native place of the famous Malayalam writer  THakazhy Siva Sankara  Pillai also houses  a famous  Dharma Sastha temple. Thakazhi is a Village in Champakulam Taluk in Alappuzha District of Kerala State, India. It belongs to South Kerala Division . It is located 19 KM towards South from District head quarters Alappuzha. 7 KM from Champakkulam. 134 KM from State capital Thiruvananthapuram, The temple is only 6 km from Ambalapuzha temple and is managed by  Travancore  DEvaswaon board,  This is one of the 108 temples   consecrated  by Lord Parasurama,.

     This temple   was originally on a hill called Otharmala . It seems there was a huge rain   and the Idol of Dharma Sastha  got removed floated  in rain water and reached  THakazhy, Once the famous Vilwamangalam SWamiyar was  passing this way and saw a huge divine light and he found out the  idol of Dharma Sastha  in a pit (Called POthakuzhy in Malayalam)  with the help of a local magician called  Odiyan   and consecrated it there itself  . Initially the temple was called Pothakuzhiyil Dharma  Sasthavu  or otharodiyan Dharma Sasthvu. Due to the brilliant  luster  of the idol it was  also called  Udayarkkan (Sun of dawn) SAsthavu, and over time its name changed  in To Thakazhy  Dharma Sasthavu, Later the king of CHampakaserry  built a  temple there.

Later the area was captured by Travancore King and Champakasseri Raja left the place. As a result, functioning of the temple deteriorated. During that period, a native Nair used to teach young children alphabets in Kudippallikoodam. He, who was called as "Asan", was a strong devotee of Sastha and the always prayed to Lord Ayyappa of renovating the temple. But he was financially very weak.
Once in his dream, Lord Ayyappa appeared and instructed him to prepare a medicinal oil out of medicinal herbs and various other oils and to sell it at a low rate and use the money gained through this for temple renovation and for performing daily rites.Asan followed the Lord's instructions and Valyaenna became quite famous. Thus the temple was renovated and Asan was referred to as "Enna Valyachan". After the death of Enna Valyachan, his idol was made and was also installed in the temple. In 1979, Ashtabandhakalasam and Sathakodiyarchana were conducted in the temple.Previously this was done 40 years before.

 'Valiyenna'(a special type of medicinal oil meaning great oil) became a  speciality of this temple. Its believed that this oil has magical powers in taking away all the diseases from manhood. But there are some rules and regulations for feeding the medicine. These medicines are collected from 'Othar' hill. This oil is prepared only by members of the 'Aasan family  ', who belongs to a Nair family.

 Important Festivals Important Festivals

The main festival is in the month 'Kumbham'. Its an eight-day festival which ends with 'Arattu'. Also 'Kalamezhuthupattu' is celebrated in 41 days. 'Kalabhabhishekam' is celebrated from 1st Dhanu and ends after 11 days

The main festival is in the month 'Kumbham'. Its an eight-day festival which ends with 'Arattu'. Also 'Kalamezhuthupattu' is celebrated in 41 days. 'Kalabhabhishekam' is celebrated from 1st Dhanu and ends after 11 days

    The God there  faces the east and is with his wife and son.  There are five poojas  in the temple following the Manayathattu thantric rites.. The temple does not have   any other deities.

Important Festivals

The main festival is in the month 'Kumbham'. Its an eight-day festival which ends with 'Arattu'. Also 'Kalamezhuthupattu' is celebrated in 41 days. 'Kalabhabhishekam' is celebrated from 1st Dhanu and ends after 11 days