Chengannur Mahadeva Temple,Darshan Information

Chengannur Mahadeva Temple

28 Jan

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Located in Chengannur, Kerala, Chengannur Mahadeva Temple (also called Bhagavathy Temple) is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the major Shiva temples in Kerala. The others are the Ettumanoor Mahadevar Temple, Kaduthruthy Mahadeva Temple, Vaikom Temple, Ernakulam Shiva Temple and Vadakkunathan temple. It is also considered as one of the major Bhagavathy temples in Kerala. Chengannur Mahadevar Temple is one of the oldest and famous temple in Alappuzha.

Location Kerala, Alapuzzha, Thiruvananthapuram

Legend

According to the legends, Goddess Parvati came here after getting married to Lord Shiva. Parvathi got her menstrual period for 28 days. The place where she waited out her menstruation came to be called Chen (red) Kunnu (hill) Ooru (place) or Chengannur.

Architecture

The temple is built in Kerala style architecture. The temple has a two storeyed gopuram or a gateway tower, with the upper storey having wooden trails covering the Kottupura (a hall of drum beating during festivals). A rectangular wall around the temple, called Kshetra-Madilluka pierced by the gateways, encloses all the shrines of the temple. The metal plated flagpost or Dwajasthambam is located axial to the temple tower leading to the central sanctum and there is a Deepastamba, which is the light post. Chuttuambalam is the outer pavilion within the temple walls. The central shrine and the associated hall is located in a rectangular structure called Nallambalam. Between the entrance of Nallambalam to the sanctum, there is a raised square platform called Namaskara Mandapa which has a pyramidal roof. Thevrapura, the kitchen used to cook offering to the deity is located on the left of Namaskara Mandapa from the entrance. Balithara is an altar is used for making ritualistic offering to demi-gods and the festive deities. The central shrine called Sreekovil houses the image of the presiding deity. It is on an elevated platform with a single door reached through a flight of five steps. Either sides of the doors have images of guardian deities called Dvarapalakas. The roof of the temple and some of the pillars have lavish wood and stuccuto carvings depicting various stories of ancient epics, Ramayana and Mahabharatha.

Culture

The culture of Chengannur dates back to the Royal era. The town evolved on the banks of Holy River Pampa, giving its high quality of thought and spirituality. Chengannur is famous for its artistes, mainly Kathakali masters and for its craftsmen. Many of the reputed Chundan Valloms or Snake Boats that won glory were from the region. Chengannur is a major 'Shaiva' pilgrim destination in India. Chengannur temple is one of the 108 temples believed to be created by Parasurama. Four out of five major Vishu temples believed to be created by Pandavas - Thrichittattu, Puliyoor, Aranmula and Thiruvanvandoor - are in and around Chengannur. Chengannur Suriyani Church is another example for the architecture excellence of this town. There is a 33.5 feet tall Cross made from single stone is a major attraction of its Architectural beauty.

Darsan Info

Lord Shiva and Parvathi Devi are the main investitures of this temple. Differing from other temples, there are two main Shrines in this temple. Lord Shiva facing East and Devi facing West. The main shrine is a conical copper plated one. Devi's main Idol is made with an alloy of five metals (panchaloham). The Shivalingam, is covered with a gold plate bearing an image of Ardhanareeswara - or the Shiva-Shakti manifestation of Shiva. There is a story that after constructing the temple, Perumthachan told the priest that the temple would be gutted in fire one day and the idol of Parvathy Devi would be destroyed. So he made the alloy idol in advance. The mukhamandapam in front of the temple and other mandapams in this temple are full of exquisite woodwork.The other sub-investitures of the temple are Ganapathi, Shasta (Lord Ayyappan), Chandikeswaran, Neelagrivan, Ganga, and Naagar. There is also a shrine of SreeKrishna nearby.

Darsan Dresscode

Men should wear Dhotis/Mundu and remove shirts/t-shirts. Women should wear Indian clothing.

Temple Rituals

The temple has got three daily poojas - three Sreebalis for Siva and three for Parvathy.

Special Rituals

This is one of the rare temples which celebrates menstruation festival for Bhagavathy. The festival is called Thripputhu, during which the temple is closed for three days marking the menstruation period of the deity.