Tiruvanchikulam Mahadeva temple

Tiruvanchikulam Mahadeva temple

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

    Tiruvanchikulam  temple   is located 2 km away  Kodungallore  town in Kerala. This is a very unique Siva temple in Kerala   on three counts.

1.It is the only   temple in Kerala   sung by the Saivaite saints of  Tamil Nadu  called Nayanmar   and is termed as   a” Padal PethaShiva sthalam”.  The great saivite saint  Sundaramurthy  Nayanar has sung about this temple.

2.This temple has the largest number of upadevathas   among all the temples of Kerala. The upadevathas are   Ganapathy  , Lord Subramanya  , Palliyara  Sivan,Dakshinamurthy  , SAndhyavelakkal Sivan,  Parameshwara ,   SAkthi Panchakshari Bhagwathi  , Goddess  Parvathi  ,Goddess Durga  , Goddess  Ganga , Goddess  Varahi , Goddess  Indrani  , God Veerabhadra  Pradosha  nrithya saptha mathas  , Ayyppa, Hanuman  , Nagaraja, Nagayakshi  ,Sundarmurthy Nayanar, Cheraman Perumal    and so on. It is interesting to note that  there  is no temple for Lord Vishnu   in side this great temple.The main lIngam is  having a  scar mark  on its left side.  It is supposed to be caused   by  the  arrow of Arjuna when Lord Shiva as a hunter   attacked him. Kani KOnna  (Indian Labrnum) is the temple tree. This is also one of the four Tali temples of Kodungallore.

3.It is perhaps the  only temple in Kerala with two Thidapllies, where Naivedyams are  prepared to the God  .One Thidapalli is used for Naivedyams   of the forenoon worship and the other for the afternoon worships.

      It  is believed that  this temple is located   in the  old capital city  of the Cheras    which was called  as Mahodhayapuram.  Cheran Senguttuvan was the most famous king   who ruled from this city  .He was also called   as Cheraman Perumal . It was his brother Ilango Adigal   who wrote the great Tamil epic Silappadikaram.  It was he who built the temple    for Kannagi  , the heroine of Silapadikaram in Kodungallore. This temple was completely destroyed both by the Dutch as well as Tipu Sultan  and the present temple  is believed to have been reconstructed  in 1801 by Paliath Achan  of Kochi  kingdom . It is believed that  both Sundara Murethy Nayanar  riding on an elephant  and Cheran Senguttuvan riding on a blue  horse   ascended    to the heaven from this temple  and on the way to heaven, Sundaramurthy Nayanar   sang about this temple   and sent the song back  to this temple,.It is believed that  the Siva Linga   which is consecrated  in this temple   was brought  from Chidambaram.

    It is believed that A Nambudiri Brahmin took away  the serpent Vasuki guarding Mahadeva  in his  Palm leaf Umbrella. Then onwards  , his house became famous as Pambumekkattil Mana, which is about 6 km from this temple    and is  visited by  all people who want to worship  the serpent. It is also believed that sage Parasurama did penance at this temple   to get rid of the sins associated   with following of Marumakka Thayam (the properties go from uncle to nephew)   in Kerala

      One of the major   worship of the temple  is Dampathi Pooja where the  Lord is worshipped along with   Goddess  Uma. Sankabishekam , that is  anointing the  Linga using a conch is also an important form of worship.Daily there are five  poojas in the temple  .” Five poojas and three shribalis are the routine. The day starts with Palliyunarthal (waking up of the lord) at 3.00 a.m., escorting the lord and his consort from Palliyara to Mukhamandapa, changing of Nirmalyam, Abhishekam (ablutions), and leading them to the Moolasthana, Usha pooja, Dhaara to the accompaniment of Rudram, Pantheeradi pooja, Navakam, Panchagavyam, Uchapooja and closing of temple for noon at 11.30 a.m. The sanctum opens again at 5.00 p.m., changing of Nirmalyam followed by Abhisheka, Deeparaadhana, Athazha pooja, escorting the lord and consort to Palliyara and conducting Palliyara pooja (Dampathi pooja).”

The pooja of Palliyara   Sivan is believed to help in  early marriage  .There is an eight day festival in the temple in the month of Kumbam   which is believed to commemorate   the ascending of heaven by king Seran Senguttuvan.

      The nearest railway station is Irinjalakuda and the nearest air port is Cochin airport(35 km) .   There are frequent buses from Trichur to this temple. The temple is open 4.30 Am to 10.30 Am   and 3.30 Pm to  8.30 PM.