Annamanada Mahadeva Temple
Encyclopedia
Annamanada Mahadeva Temple is located at Annamanada
in Thrissur
District. The presiding deity of the temple
is Lord Shiva. The shivling is almost four feet tall and is considered as the Kiratamoorthy in a pleasing mood while giving Pashupatastra to Arjuna
.
The temple faces to the east and the sanctum is square shaped. There is a low Valiabalikkal in front of the Agramandapam on the eastern side and a bali peetha equal in height of the basement of the shrikovil. The sopana with carved hasti-hasta railings on either side provides access to the square Mukha Mandapam.
The doors on the south and the west lead to the shrines of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Parvati
respectively. The Mukha mandapam and the shrikovil have dvi-tala structure, which is covered with copper sheet. The nalam balam of the temple has two thidappallies. On the northern side of the nalambalam lays the shrine of Lord Vishnu. In the outer prakaram
(outer courtyard) there is a tank and the oottupura in the north-east corner. The other deities of the temple are Shasta, Goshala Krishnan, Mahakali
, Nagaraja
, Durga
mounted on lion
and Narasimha
.
The annual festival is celebrated during February or March. The festival lasts for ten days and is observed with pomp and pageantry
. The arattu on the concluding day of the annual festival is done in the Annamanada River.
The temple is 10 km south of Chalakudi on the Mala route and is about 5 km from Mala.
coast, the nucleus of the temple can be dated to an antiquity of at least 1200 years.
Earlier the temple was being administered by about 10 or 12 mamboothiri illams who were the traditional uraymas of the temple. Subsequently, by the middle of the eighteenth century, the melkoyma (overlordship) was usurped by the Zamorin of Kozhikode
. Cochin (in whose territory the temple was situated) successfully colluded with Travancore
to oust the Zamorin from the overlordship of the temple. The namboothiris of the gramasanketham who did not relish the overall administration of Cochin, surrendered the melkoyma rights of the temple to the Travancore ruler. Travancore
claimed and exercised sovereignty over the temple for about a century. Cochin ruler approached the British East India Company
to mediate in their dispute with Travancore
regarding melkoyma of the temple. By 1814-15 the East India Company who were meddling with the affairs of the princely states ruled that Cochin had sovereign rights over the Adoor
Grama and the Annamanata temple, but certain rights of the temple were conceded to Travancore
state. Later, considering the difficulty of exercising those special rights in a foreign territory, Travancore conceded those rights as well to the Cochin ruler in 1902. Now the temple is being administered by the Cochin Devaswom Board.
for affording clear darshan from outside the naalambalam to the untouchable Pakkanar
or to Perumthachan of the legendary Parayi petra Pandirukulam. The temple was well endowed earlier with an annual paattom (levy) of 64,000 paras of paddy and the agram (daily nivedyam) was of the order of 10 paras of rice per day.
The namaskaramandapa which is usually present in all the Mahakshetras is conspicuous by its absence.
The mukhamandapam with wooden slat enclosure is devoid of the usual dvara-paalaka sculptures, but dvara-paalakas are supposed to be prakshiptham (concealed) as they have their share in bali oblation.
The wood carvings in the Shrikovil and mukhamandapam as also those in the ceiling of the tow dvaragopurams deserve special mention.
The temple has also contributed to the promotion of Koothu
and Koodiyattom. Out of the 18 traditional Chakyar
families of Kerala
, the Mekkatt family had its original habitat near Annamanata temple and they were the sthanis there. Later, this family along with two other families - Valia Parisha of Ambalapuzha and Cheria Parisha of Kidangoor merged with the Kazhakuttom chakyars. Cheria parisha Parameswara chakyar is credited with the formulation of Mantrankom Koothu of Bhasa in current format in the Annamanata temple in the latter half of nineteenth century. The mantrankom koothu and koodiyattom used to last for 41 days during the Mandala Kaala starting from Vrishchigam first (Nov - Dec). In the absence of a Koothambalam
, the valiambalam was the venue for staging plays and Annamanata temple is one of the two temples in Kerala
where such marathon performance of Koothu used to be held in the Valiambalam in front of the main sannidhi
. Main road access to the temple is on the western side. Entering through the east nata one comes across an astonishingly low Valiabalikkal just in front of the agramandapam. While generally, the height of the principal bali peetha is equal to the height of the adhishtana (basement) of the Shrikovil, here the uppermost layer i.e. the padma-peetha alone projects outside the base to a height equal to the jagathy (lowermost square moulding) of the adhishtana.
Past the balikkal and agra mandapa one enters the inner courtyard (akathe balivattom) of the temple. There is no namaskara mandapa in front of the Shrikovil. The Sopana with carved hasti-hasta bannisters on either side provides access to the square mukha mandapa. The sanctum is also square in shape. Both the Shrikovil and mukha mandapa are built up of granite up to the vedika. Further up, the shrikovil is built up of laterite, plastered over and decorated with panjaras and plain rectangular vertical niches interspersed in between. The ghanadvaras (false doors) on the south and west are utilised for the pratishtas of Ganapathy and Parvathy
respectively. The ghanadvaras are adorned with toranas. Underneath the ghanadvara on the north runs the granite pranala supported on a dwarf figurine. The sanctum contains the Shiva linga, almost four feet tall and is considered to be Kiratamoorthy in a pleasing mood while giving Pashupatastra to Arjuna
. The mukha mandapa in front is enclosed on the three sides with horizontal wooden slats fixed on outwardly sloping carved wooden frames. The upper floor walls of the mukha mandapa are made up of intricately carved wood panelling. Both the sanctum as well as the abutting mukha mandapa are dvi-tala in structure, covered over with copper sheets. The upper floor eaves are supported by free standing carved wooden figures at intervals and the roofs are punctured and decorated with shuka nasas.
There are two thidappallies forming part of the naalambalam on either side of the main sanctum. Through a door on the northern side of the naalambalam, opposite the pranala one comes to an enclosure which contains the circular eka-tala shrikovil of Vishnu with a square namaskara mandapa in front supporting a pyramidal roof. Both the structures have tiled roof. The vilakkumaadom structure encloses the naalambalam of Shiva sannidhanam as well as the Vishnu enclosure on its northern side, along the outer periphery. The independent gabled roofs of the two valiambalams, that of Shiva and Vishnu, present independent mukhappus (frontage) of the two major sannidhis, while that of Shiva extends forward over the agra mandapa in front accentuating its primacy.
In front of the agra mandapa is the extraordinary valiabalikkal, beyond which on the eastern side is the aanapandal with a tiled roof and the dhwaja stambha piercing that roof. In the outer balivattom are located the Shasta sannidhi facing west on the southern side of the naalambalam and the Goshala Krishnan adjoining the western boundary wall in the south-west corner. In the north-east corner of the outer courtyard are located the tank and the oottupura. The courtyard is enclosed by a tall compound wall pierced by openings in the four cardinal directions, of which those in the east and west natas are decorated with dvaragopuras with dvi-tala tiled roof and with carved ceilings.
Outside the eastern dvaragopura on its south is situated the Mahakaali sannidhi and on the north-east are the sannidhis of Nagaraja, Durga mounted on lion, Narasimha and Krishna with a large tank in between. The Annamanata river flows by facing the eastern facade at a distance of around 500 metres, wherein the aarattu of the Lord takes place on the concluding day of the annual festival. The devaswom office is located on the west nata beyond the dvaragopuram on the north-west side. The main access to the temple is from the western side and the distance to the road point (Chalakkudy-Mala
bus route) is about 200 metres.
sannidhis, ashtami rohini also assumes importance in this temple.
The annual festival in Kumbhom (Feb-March) lasting for ten days is celebrated with pomp and pageantry and culminates in the aarattu on Ardra asterism.
The tantram of the temple is vested with Kuttalakkatt and Avanaparambu illoms.
Annamanada
Annamanada is a small town in the southwest corner of Thrissur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is situated 8 km from Mala and 10 km south of Chalakudy....
in Thrissur
Thrissur
This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...
District. The presiding deity of the temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
is Lord Shiva. The shivling is almost four feet tall and is considered as the Kiratamoorthy in a pleasing mood while giving Pashupatastra to Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
.
The temple faces to the east and the sanctum is square shaped. There is a low Valiabalikkal in front of the Agramandapam on the eastern side and a bali peetha equal in height of the basement of the shrikovil. The sopana with carved hasti-hasta railings on either side provides access to the square Mukha Mandapam.
The doors on the south and the west lead to the shrines of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
respectively. The Mukha mandapam and the shrikovil have dvi-tala structure, which is covered with copper sheet. The nalam balam of the temple has two thidappallies. On the northern side of the nalambalam lays the shrine of Lord Vishnu. In the outer prakaram
Prakaram
A Prakaram, also spelled Pragaram or Pragaaram) in Indian architecture is an outer parth around the Hindu temple sanctum. These may be enclosed or open and are typically enclosed for the inner most prakaram....
(outer courtyard) there is a tank and the oottupura in the north-east corner. The other deities of the temple are Shasta, Goshala Krishnan, Mahakali
Mahakali
Mahakali , literally translated as Great Kali, is a Hindu Goddess, considered to be the consort of Shiva the God of consciousness, and as the basis of Reality and existence...
, Nagaraja
Nagaraja
Nagaraja is a Sanskrit word from naga and raj meaning King of Snakes. It is applied to three main deities, Anantha , Takshak, and Vasuki. Anantha, Vasuki and Takshak are brothers, children of Kashyap and Kadru, who are the parents of all snakes...
, Durga
Durga
For the 1985 Hindi Film of Rajesh Khanna see DurgaaIn Hinduism, Durga ; ; meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; , durga) or Maa Durga "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion...
mounted on lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
and Narasimha
Narasimha
Narasimha or Nrusimha , also spelt as Narasingh and Narasingha, whose name literally translates from Sanskrit as "Man-lion", is an avatar of Vishnu described in the Puranas, Upanishads and other ancient religious texts of Hinduism...
.
The annual festival is celebrated during February or March. The festival lasts for ten days and is observed with pomp and pageantry
Pageantry
Pageantry is a colorful display, as in a pageant. It may refer to:*Beauty pageant*Drag pageantry*Medieval pageant...
. The arattu on the concluding day of the annual festival is done in the Annamanada River.
The temple is 10 km south of Chalakudi on the Mala route and is about 5 km from Mala.
History
Being one of the thirty two grama kshetras in the KeralaKerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
coast, the nucleus of the temple can be dated to an antiquity of at least 1200 years.
Earlier the temple was being administered by about 10 or 12 mamboothiri illams who were the traditional uraymas of the temple. Subsequently, by the middle of the eighteenth century, the melkoyma (overlordship) was usurped by the Zamorin of Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
. Cochin (in whose territory the temple was situated) successfully colluded with Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
to oust the Zamorin from the overlordship of the temple. The namboothiris of the gramasanketham who did not relish the overall administration of Cochin, surrendered the melkoyma rights of the temple to the Travancore ruler. Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
claimed and exercised sovereignty over the temple for about a century. Cochin ruler approached the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
to mediate in their dispute with Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
regarding melkoyma of the temple. By 1814-15 the East India Company who were meddling with the affairs of the princely states ruled that Cochin had sovereign rights over the Adoor
Adoor
Adoor is a town and a municipality near Pandalam in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala state, India, spread over an area of 20.42 km2. The town is located midway between Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam. It is among one of the three municipalities in Pathanamthitta district.-Etymology:It is...
Grama and the Annamanata temple, but certain rights of the temple were conceded to Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
state. Later, considering the difficulty of exercising those special rights in a foreign territory, Travancore conceded those rights as well to the Cochin ruler in 1902. Now the temple is being administered by the Cochin Devaswom Board.
Traditions
The sinking of the valiabalikkal is attributed to the traditional explanation that it was ordained by the LordLord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
for affording clear darshan from outside the naalambalam to the untouchable Pakkanar
Pakkanar
Pakkanar is a character in Malayalam Folklore. Pakkanar was born as the son of Vararuchi, the famous astrologer who adorned the court of King Vikramaditya. Pakkanar was second among the twelve offsprings or the Parayi petta panthirukulam...
or to Perumthachan of the legendary Parayi petra Pandirukulam. The temple was well endowed earlier with an annual paattom (levy) of 64,000 paras of paddy and the agram (daily nivedyam) was of the order of 10 paras of rice per day.
Highlights
As mentioned earlier the providentially sunken valiabalikkal provides an interesting riddle.The namaskaramandapa which is usually present in all the Mahakshetras is conspicuous by its absence.
The mukhamandapam with wooden slat enclosure is devoid of the usual dvara-paalaka sculptures, but dvara-paalakas are supposed to be prakshiptham (concealed) as they have their share in bali oblation.
The wood carvings in the Shrikovil and mukhamandapam as also those in the ceiling of the tow dvaragopurams deserve special mention.
The temple has also contributed to the promotion of Koothu
Koothu
Koothu , means dance or performance in Tamil language, is a folk art originated from the early Tamil country. But more precisely Koothu refers Therukoothu that is street dance or street play since it will be performed village squares. At early age the art of entertainment reached its peak in...
and Koodiyattom. Out of the 18 traditional Chakyar
Chakyar
Chakyar is a Brahmin caste coming under the Ambalavasi community of Hindus in the Kerala state of South India. The women in this caste are called Illotammas....
families of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, the Mekkatt family had its original habitat near Annamanata temple and they were the sthanis there. Later, this family along with two other families - Valia Parisha of Ambalapuzha and Cheria Parisha of Kidangoor merged with the Kazhakuttom chakyars. Cheria parisha Parameswara chakyar is credited with the formulation of Mantrankom Koothu of Bhasa in current format in the Annamanata temple in the latter half of nineteenth century. The mantrankom koothu and koodiyattom used to last for 41 days during the Mandala Kaala starting from Vrishchigam first (Nov - Dec). In the absence of a Koothambalam
Koothambalam
Koothambalam' or Kuttampalam is a theater hall for staging Koothu , Nangiar koothu and Koodiyattam, the ancient dramatic art forms of Kerala, India. Koothambalams are constructed according to the guide lines given in the chapter 2 of Nātyasāstra of Bharata Muni. The hall is considered to be as...
, the valiambalam was the venue for staging plays and Annamanata temple is one of the two temples in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
where such marathon performance of Koothu used to be held in the Valiambalam in front of the main sannidhi
Temple Layout and Structure
The temple faces eastEast
East is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.East is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of west and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the right side of a map is east....
. Main road access to the temple is on the western side. Entering through the east nata one comes across an astonishingly low Valiabalikkal just in front of the agramandapam. While generally, the height of the principal bali peetha is equal to the height of the adhishtana (basement) of the Shrikovil, here the uppermost layer i.e. the padma-peetha alone projects outside the base to a height equal to the jagathy (lowermost square moulding) of the adhishtana.
Past the balikkal and agra mandapa one enters the inner courtyard (akathe balivattom) of the temple. There is no namaskara mandapa in front of the Shrikovil. The Sopana with carved hasti-hasta bannisters on either side provides access to the square mukha mandapa. The sanctum is also square in shape. Both the Shrikovil and mukha mandapa are built up of granite up to the vedika. Further up, the shrikovil is built up of laterite, plastered over and decorated with panjaras and plain rectangular vertical niches interspersed in between. The ghanadvaras (false doors) on the south and west are utilised for the pratishtas of Ganapathy and Parvathy
Parvathy
Parvathy may refer to:* Parvati, the Hindu goddess, commonly spelled Parvathy in southern India.* Parvathy Jayaram, actress from Kerala, India* Parvathy Omanakuttan, runner-up in Miss World 2008* Parvati Melton, Indian model and actress...
respectively. The ghanadvaras are adorned with toranas. Underneath the ghanadvara on the north runs the granite pranala supported on a dwarf figurine. The sanctum contains the Shiva linga, almost four feet tall and is considered to be Kiratamoorthy in a pleasing mood while giving Pashupatastra to Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
. The mukha mandapa in front is enclosed on the three sides with horizontal wooden slats fixed on outwardly sloping carved wooden frames. The upper floor walls of the mukha mandapa are made up of intricately carved wood panelling. Both the sanctum as well as the abutting mukha mandapa are dvi-tala in structure, covered over with copper sheets. The upper floor eaves are supported by free standing carved wooden figures at intervals and the roofs are punctured and decorated with shuka nasas.
There are two thidappallies forming part of the naalambalam on either side of the main sanctum. Through a door on the northern side of the naalambalam, opposite the pranala one comes to an enclosure which contains the circular eka-tala shrikovil of Vishnu with a square namaskara mandapa in front supporting a pyramidal roof. Both the structures have tiled roof. The vilakkumaadom structure encloses the naalambalam of Shiva sannidhanam as well as the Vishnu enclosure on its northern side, along the outer periphery. The independent gabled roofs of the two valiambalams, that of Shiva and Vishnu, present independent mukhappus (frontage) of the two major sannidhis, while that of Shiva extends forward over the agra mandapa in front accentuating its primacy.
In front of the agra mandapa is the extraordinary valiabalikkal, beyond which on the eastern side is the aanapandal with a tiled roof and the dhwaja stambha piercing that roof. In the outer balivattom are located the Shasta sannidhi facing west on the southern side of the naalambalam and the Goshala Krishnan adjoining the western boundary wall in the south-west corner. In the north-east corner of the outer courtyard are located the tank and the oottupura. The courtyard is enclosed by a tall compound wall pierced by openings in the four cardinal directions, of which those in the east and west natas are decorated with dvaragopuras with dvi-tala tiled roof and with carved ceilings.
Outside the eastern dvaragopura on its south is situated the Mahakaali sannidhi and on the north-east are the sannidhis of Nagaraja, Durga mounted on lion, Narasimha and Krishna with a large tank in between. The Annamanata river flows by facing the eastern facade at a distance of around 500 metres, wherein the aarattu of the Lord takes place on the concluding day of the annual festival. The devaswom office is located on the west nata beyond the dvaragopuram on the north-west side. The main access to the temple is from the western side and the distance to the road point (Chalakkudy-Mala
Mala, Kerala
Mala is the name of a small town in Thrissur district of Kerala, south India. K. Karunakaran, the former Chief Minister of Kerala, represented Mala constituency from 1965 to 1995. The famous Malayalam film actor Mala Aravindan is also a native of Mala. There is a Jewish synagogue at Mala town ). ...
bus route) is about 200 metres.
Rituals and festivals
Annamanata Mahadeva Temple is a Mahakshetra by all criteria, though less popular and known outside Thrissur district. It has all the constituent units of a Mahakshetra. Five poojas and three shribalis constitute the daily pooja routine. Pradosha Shivarathri and Ardra (particularly in Dhanu) days are of special significance. With three VishnuVishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
sannidhis, ashtami rohini also assumes importance in this temple.
The annual festival in Kumbhom (Feb-March) lasting for ten days is celebrated with pomp and pageantry and culminates in the aarattu on Ardra asterism.
The tantram of the temple is vested with Kuttalakkatt and Avanaparambu illoms.