Sree Raajaraajeswara temple Thaliparamba

About 300 meters south of the temple is the large chira believed to have been a poyka used by the great sage AGASTHYA FOR BATH. 

Route:- one and half kilometers north-east of Thalipparamba( chiravakku bus stop) 

Gopuras that exist east and west have adhisthaanam and walls with niches but no roof. On the eastern side there are 2 gopuras ,one inner and the other outer.The gignaticGpuram at the entrance was destroyed by Tippu's forces.

Brief history and the Legends

 origin of the idol

One day Devas approached Lord Siva and his consort Goddess Paarvathi and told them about the 3 Sivalingas made by Viswakarma made out of the power obtained by churning Aadithya, the Sun God Since the idols had their origin from Sun,due to their radiance and intolerable heat,they caused great hardships to the Devas.At their request Lord Siva took possession of all the three idols and gave them to the Goddess for daily worship.Centuries later when Sage Maandhaathaav pleased Lord Siva with his great penace,the Goddess presented one of the Sivalingas to him with the injunction that it should be only installed at a place where there is no grave yard.The sage went to many places in search of a suitable site and at last found Thalipparamba the most appropriate place that satisfied all the stipulations.The sage installed the idol he got at a sacred spot and worshipped it.After his death ,the idol disappeared at the same place deep into the earth. Muchukunda ,his son propitiated Lord Siva and got the second idol ,which he installed  over the earlier one in the same spot.In course of time ,this too disappeared deep into the earth at the same spot.Centuries later Sathasoman ,a king of Mooshaka dynasty and a great devotee of Siva propitiated lord Siva as advised by sage Agathya and got the third idol from Lord Siva.This was given to the king with out the permission of the Goddess.The great sage Agasthya himself consecrated the idol.The ghee-lamp which the sage Agasthya is said to have lit at the time of consecrations is still kept burning in the temple.For preserving the idol in tact later it was covered with a metal Golaka .It is said that Sathaasoman built the temple and made a gift of it to Perinchelloor Graamam. Lord Parashuraaman is believed to have guided Sathaasoman in building the temple,besides himself worshipping the Lord here .Lord Brahma  also is said to have done poojas to this idol.  

A myth

 After Sathi's immolation  Lord Siva with the charred body Sathi wandered here and there.To relieve him from his grief and also to remove the body from the hands of Siva, Mahaavishnu cut the body in to pieces with his Sudarshana chakram. The head fell at Thalipparamba and the yoni mandala fell at Chengannoor.The Sanctity of the temple is attributed to this.

The name Lakshmipuram 

One day Mahaavishnu directed his consort Mahaalakshmi to visit Sree Nilkhanta and pay Her respects to Him.When She entered the sanctum sanctorum, she saw the Lord Nilkhanta in disguise as Lord Mahaavishnu with 4 arms and the usual weapons in hand.She was perplexed.But Lord Nilakhanta soon took His original form and seated the Goddess in a piidham and honoured Her. When She tried to leave the temple ,Mahaakaalanthe guard of Lord Siva closed the western door of the Sreekovil .The Goddess could not leave the place.

At this time Mahaavishnu reached the place in disguise as Baalasubramanya and danced in front of Neelakhanta.Much delighted by the dance ,the Lord Nilkanta embraced the boy and kept Him in his lap.Baalasubramnya tried to help the Goddess by invoking her into his silver muruta. Realiszing the truth Lord Parameswara requested both to be always present there and shower their blessings.Thereafter the place is known as Lakshmipuram.  It is reported that to   commemorate this incident on every Sivaraathri day ,the thitambu of Sree Baalakrishnapperumaal of Trichambaram is taken on procession to the Sree Raajaraajeswara temple 

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Namaskaaramandapam 

 It is believed that Sree Raama on his return from Lanka after slaying Raavana came to this temple and offered prayers at the place where the Namaskaaramandapam is now located.Since SreeRaama sat here and worshipped the deity no one including the thantri is allowed to prostrate at the Namaskaaramandapam.The mandapam has 16 pillars 4 round inner pillars,12 square outer ones.On the ceiling there are EXQUISITE CARVINGS

THE SHRINE OF RSHABHA

In the neighbouring paddy fields of the temple,people noticed the crops were destroyed at night. The local people took great  efforts to find out who destroyed their crops.One day they noticed a white bull visiting their fields and eating their crops.They chased the bull up to the temple.To their surprise,it disappeared into the temple suddenly. They prayed to the god and a prasnam was conducted Rshabha was installed in a separate shrine facing the deity. Rshbha also get the nivedyam when it is offered to Lord SIVA.

The water in this tank is believed to be that of Ganges and hence taken exclusively for temple purposes.

Kokkarni

There are exquisite wood carvings in the temple particularly in the dwithala part,at the ceilings of namaskaaramandapam and valiyambalam and also stone carvings on the eakathala part.These carvings depict motifs of deities and themes taken from puraanas

Two inscriptions are seen in this temple ,one reffering the completion of the tank in 700 K.E(1524 A.D) and the other to the construction of a platform in 954 K.E(1778 A.D)
Idols  The topmost idol is about is about 60 cms above peetham it looks like much taller.It has a glittering appearance when decorated with the luminous gold crescent(with 3 large eyes and prominent nose).On the southern side of the outer saandhaara facing south is the mural painting of Lord Dakshinaamoorththi.On the rear side of the sreekovil is the wodden idol of Sree Paarvathi facing west and and in standing pose. The Daaru silpa of Yakshi in standing posture having 2 hands,left hand holding a mirror and the right one in the form of putting a thilaka on the fore -head lookking into the mirror.The pancha-loha idol of Rshabhais in lying posture.
At the time of Aththaazha-pooja  nivedyam is kept in front of the deity. The door is closed and opened after some time.  It is believed that the Lord visits Cherukunnu Annapoorneswari and takes Aththaazham there.
Sree-Bhoothabali is conducted thrice in ayear at 7.30 pm on sivaraathri,vishu and puththari day.

Offerings The most popular offerings are neyyamrthu,ponnin-kutam,velli-kkutam,niramaala and pushpaanjali 

Time of worship 

It is believed that bhajanam in the temple and sayanapradikshanam on sivaraathri day will help a devotee to get cure from diseases like apasmaaram and also to have santhaana-vardhana

THANTRI OF THE TEMPLE

One  time both Sree Raajaraajeswara temple and Payyannoor Subramanya swami temple had one common thantri.In cource of time one of the then thantris found it difficult to attend to the rites of both the temples. So one day he invoked the Chaithanya of Sree Raajaraajeswara  into a conch and covered it with a putava(cloth) and tried to take it to Payyannoor. One pious Namboothiri noticed some un usual chaithanya in the face of the priest and became suspicious of his behaviour. Realising that his mischief had been noticed the thantri took back the conch to the shrine. By this act, the priest of the Tharananelloor lost the thantram of the templeand the namboothiri who found out the act was entrusted with the thantram of the temple.Since the mode of action was unveiling the cloth(putava oori) the illam of the namboothiri became pootayoori and in cource of time Putayoor.
A story:-The story tells that when the seizure of the temple was in progress,the priest was inside the sreekovilceaselessly praying day and night for the safety of the temple .The Lord heard his prayers.Tippu's forces had to retreat as the commander of the army was bitten by a Karinaagam and a serpent appeared in front of every soldier.Thus the temple was saved from destruction.

A peculiar feature of the temple is that women devotees are permitted to come only up to the front part of the vilakkumaatam and are not allowed to enter inside the temple till 8 pm 

Procedure of Pradakslnam 

Take bath in the chira which Sage Agasthya had used many a time followed by worshipping Lord Krishna by looking at south,and then Lord Saastha.Reaching at the main entrance at east look at east to worship Sree Kaanjirangaattu Vadyanaathan and then enter the Gopuram and move about a meter towards north and worship Jeshta bhagavathi. Then move towards south  and worship Sree Bhagavathi and worship Yakshi  and then worship Rishabha(Nandi) before commencing the outer circumambulation.On reaching south worship Lord Ganapathi,Lord Subramnya,Mahaakaalan,Nandikeshan and Lord Dakshinaamoorththiby lookking at north;in south-west corner and west worship Goddess Annapoorneswariand Goddess Maataayi bhagavathi;proceeding to north-west,sit for a while to get the blessings of Caashivishwanaathan.At the north- east is Kokkarniwhose waters are believed to be that of Ganges.So at this place worship Ganga. Then one has to enter 

through the main entrance and worship Sree Raajaraajeswara;worship Sree Dakshinaamoorththi,Goddess Paarvathi,and Lord Parashuraama(sankalpam only)and proceed by a  pradakshina as is done for devotional round in Siva temple.

Festivals 

Ikkare kottiyoor

Ikkare kottiyoor 

photographer Janan E.R

The temple looks like a naalukettu with an agra mandapam and an inner court yard .The garbhagriham is at the rear side. The naalukettu has three entrances and is built with laterite stones and tiled roof The square garbhagriha at the rear side is of saandhaara type.On either side,there are rooms.one of the rooms has a door to the outside.A deepasthambham  stands out side.There is no well for the temple but water is taken from the therththakundam.

There are some exquisite wood carving on the ceiling of the agramandapam depcting ashtadikpaalas, peanace   of himavaan, birth of paarvathi ,paarvathiiswayamvaram kiraathaarjuneeyam, ananthashayanam, parrot,bangles etc..At the projected ends of rafters mural paintings of leaves,creepers and flowrers are depicted.

Deites 

panchaloha idol of of Lord Siva ,Godess Paarvathimirror type idol of Sree Porkkili bhagavathi(bhadrakaali)During festivl days the idols of Lord Siva and Paarvathi are taken to Akkare kottiyoor

The temple is kept open on all days (except during the festival days at akkarekottiyoor)from 6.00 am to 8.00 pm

Offerings appam,,sharkkarappaayasam,pushpaanjali and koovalamaala are popular 

Sree (Trccharumamanna) Siva temple Kottiyoor

Sree (Trccharumamanna) Siva temple Kottiyoor

70 kms south -east of Kannur The road from Kannur via Mattannur-Irritty joins the Thalasseri -Kottiyoor road at Peraavoor.From Peraavoor-Manaththana-Kanichaar-Kelakam-Kottiyoor is the route

11th June 2013

Legend Kottiyoor,situated on Sahyaadri mountains ,also known as southern kaasi(vaaranaasi),is believed to be the place where series of great sacrificial rites were  performed by Daksha prajaapathi.Once he held a great yaaga known as Brahaspathihavanam.For this he did not invite his daughter Sathiidevi and Lord Siva.Sathiidevi went to attend the yaaga ignoring the warnings of Lord Siva. Lord Daksha ignored her.In great despair ,she prepared an altar of fire and ended her life.Hearing this tragic incident ,Lord Siva got infuriated and beat his matted hair on the ground.From this two deities Goddess Bhadrakaali and Lord Veerabhdran emerged.

They were directed by the Lord to proceed to the yaaasaala.They disrupted and destroyed the yaagasaala and killed all including Daksha.All rishis and devas were in fear.At that time Lord Brahma and other Devas approached Lord Siva and prayed to shed his anger.Satisfied with their prayers ,LordSiva became calm and agreed to restore the life of Daksha.As his head could  not be traced,head of a lamb was fixed on Dakshas body and he was revived.By the grace of Lord Siva ,Daksha completed the yaaga.
History

The site of the yaaga was then subsequently covered with dense forest. Centuries later a band of Kurichyas,(the hill tribes living around kottiyoor) were hunting deer when an arrow stuck at a granite stone and blood ozed out.This phenomenon puzzled them and they reported the incident to the eldest member of the near by patinjaatte illam and also the Kaaranavars of Kulangaraththu,Aakkal,Karimpanakkal,chaaththoththu and Thittayil tharavaats.All of them assembled at the site.The namboothiri,well versed in  thantric lore got an intuition that an idol is lying at a particular spot.The members of the nair families who accompanied him were asked to dig the ground there.To their great surprise they found a swayambhoo idol there.It is believed that God Himself appeared in the yajnabhoomi for showering blessing on all.The present trustees are said to be the descedants of these nair families.The place where the swayam bhoo idol was found is known as Akkare Kottiyoor in the midst of waters of Baavali river

As the moolasthaanam of the temple is not accessible always another temple was built in ancient times on the southern side of the vaavalippuzha. This place took the name Ikkare kottiyoor which is at a distance of 3 kms. 

Both these places together constitute Kottiyoor temple.During the festival days ,the idols of Lord Siva and the Goddess are taken to the Akkare kottiyoor and the shrine is closed. ,thouh the idol of Goddess Bhadrakaali continues to be there

The gopuram of Akkare kottiyoor at Manaththana deserves special mentoin since from here start the limits of Akkare kottiyoor on the southhern side.The H.R &C.E department took over the temple in 1954.
Akkare kottiyoor The extent of  the present area is  42 acres

of forest land ou of which 12 acre constitute the temple .There is no  building but temporary sheds are erected on tharas during Festival days. A temporary thatched shed is erected on Maniththara, facing east which has the swayambhoo idol of Lord Siva.Though  the idol faces east the theertham and prasadam are distributed by the priest facing west.

Ammaarakkal

 No shed is erected on Ammaarakkal,the spot where Sathiidevi ended Her life in the alththaar.But it has a lamp covered with a giant size oolakkuta(an umbrella made of palmyra leaf) 

The thitappalli at the south of maniththara,is a semi-permenant shed with laterite stone and palmyrah-leaf roof.Bhandaaraththra(vaal-ara),at the south-eastern side and facing north,is a semi permanent building with laterite wall and wodden ceiling.All essential items used for the rites are kept above the ceiling of the structure.Apeepul tree also stand on the north of Ammaarakkal .thara,besides the Bhandaarathara.All these tharas are surrounded the hoyl waters of vaavalippuzha known as Thuruvamchira ,which take the form of a square pool having three outlet to the river on east,west and south-east.The ancient name of Thiruvamchira ws Rudhiram chira which is believed  to have been formed by the blood which gushed out at the time of beheading Daksha. During festival days a barricade is built around the maniththara,vaalara,thitappalli,and Bhandaaraththara using cdjan leaves.

During festival days 8 temporary sheds are built to the north of the western most outlet meant for chaaththoththukayyaala(2nd ooraalan),ochar(vaadyakkaar),kozhikkottari(thantri),patinjaattethth (namboothiri),eazhillakkaar,kovilakam kayyaala,executive officer,besides the police outpost. On the southern side of the outlet are sheds for peru-nair,officer,vaariyarnambeeshan aakkan(3rd ooraalan),kolangara(1st ooraalan),thittel(4th ooraalan),pantheerati-kaambram namboothiripaat.usha-kaambram nan-mboothirippaatand panniyoor namboothiri..On the south-eastern side are the sheds for kalasamandapam,aasaari and kotterakkaavu.To the south west of kaasha mandapam are the portions for paloonam kanakka-pillai, nanthyaarvalli(thantri).To the north of eastern outlet are the sheds for peruvannaan,perumkaalavan,and kuricchyan.It is a uniqu feature that persons of different classes responsible for celebrating the festival reside at the same place.Each has certain privilages and rites in the temple.There are no facilities for the stay of devotees at the temple site 

Poojas are held only for one month ie from Chothi asterisk in the month of Itavam to Chithra asterisk of in the month of Mithunam. During this period the temple is kept open through out the day

Offerings neyyamruthu abhishekam,ilaneer abhishekam jalaabhishekam,kalabhaabhishekam ,pushpaanjali,maalachaarththal 1000 kutam jalaabhishekam 

Prasaadams distributed includes kalabham,ashtabandham,aatiya-ney,ilaneer,ootapovu,ootavati ootapoovu s are believed to be the beard of Dakshawhich was taken by the bhootha-ganas of Siv

Deities   Kottiyoor-Perumaal (swayambhoo of sila-linga type)

Ammaarakkal thara is important as this is the place where Sathiidevi ended Her life in the burning altar

The sword of Veerabhadra(believed to have been used for be heading Daksha ) is kept in the thara facing west 
FESTIVALS  The rituals of kottiyoor has 7 angams and 4 upaangasams 
1 praakkoozham It means measuring ofpaddy(nellalavu), rice(ari alavu) ,beaten rice called (aval alavu) on Vishaakham in the month of Metam On the same day purifactory and other thantric rites are held at the Aayillaarkaavu by the PatinjaatteNamboothiri.The nivedyam is knon as appata .There is a belief that whoever feels the appata sour on tasting he will die within a year.After these rites the karanavars of the 4 ooraalaars familiesare given prasadam.On the same day  the yaaga-parichaarakaars  are honoured at Krimpana gopuram by the ooraalaars.Then both the ooraalaars and parichaarakaars reach Ikkar kottiyoor temple,well befor the commencement of the rite known as Neerezhunnallaththu.

By dusk on the chothi asteriskof Itavam, the first day of the commencement of the festival ,a sword daily worshipped at Muthireri kaavu in Thavinjaal village of Maananthavaati taluk is taken to Ikkare kottiyoor temple by the priest of that temple(Vaal-varavu).

vaal-varavu

The belief is that this sword was used by Veerabhadra to cut off the head of Daksha prajaapathi.After beheading Daksha ,Veerabhadra threw away the sword and it fell at the site of Muthireri kaavu.
At the same time Agni(fire) is brought  by Thetannoor Vaariyar from the Jaathiyoor matham of Marthonkara(kuttiyaati)of Vatakara taluk,after observing strict vritham.The Agni is then taken to Ikkare kottiyoorunder the leadership of Patinjaatte namboothiri.Then after purifactory rites,the lamp at Akkare-kottiyoor known as Chothi-vilakku is lit.
It is significant that the wicks for these lamps are made and brought from the Sree Theru Ganapathi temple of Kooththuparamba by Maniyan chettiyaar.These wicks are are specially prepared after observing vritham.
The next ritual is naalam thurakkalwhich denote the removal of astabandha which had been used to cover the swayambhoo idol in the previous year..It is followed by Neyyamruthuabshishekam of the swayambhoo idol

performed by Usha-kaambram namboothiri.The ghee for  the abhishekam is brought by four traditional nair families of Iruvanaat,pallippaalan kurup,kuttiyaattoor and thammangaatan nambiyaarThose who bring ghee to the temple 



 are known as neyyamruthakkaars and they have to observe the customary vritha and rituals.They will have to wait  at Ikkare-kottiyoor till the muhoorththam for entering Akkare-kottiyoor comes.
On the next day (on Vishaakham asterisk),the ornaments and swords of the deities are brought from Karimpana gopuram in procession by the 

kuti-pathis(store-keepers),ezhillakkaars(belonging to 7 nair tharavaats)to Akkare kottiyoor.This ritual is followed by ari-alavu for the rites,abhishekam prasanna-pooja,sree-bali and sreebhootha-bali.

The daily routines start with jalaabhishekam followed by usha-pooja by usha-kaambram namboothiripaat and panthiirati-pooja by pantheerati-kaambram namboothiripaat.In the evening there are rites like sahasra-kumbhaabhishekam,navakam,pancha-gavya abhishekam and aththaazha-pooja.All these items are done by Kozhikkaattiri bhattathirippaat and Nanthyaarvalli namboothirippaat.The daily rites ends with sree-bali and sreebhootha-bali.
On the Thiruvonam asterisk ,paalamruthu-abhishekam is the important rite.The milk is aken from Karothth by thesthaani nairs after observing vrithm.The milk is taken  in mulam-kutti(bamboo-goblet)covered with a scorched plantain leaf.The bearers of milk also have to wear caps made of plantain leaves and take it to the site

under palmyra-umbrellas. The abhishekam  of this milk (paalamruthaattam)is then done by the thantri after mixing the milk with pancha-gavyam
On the 8th day of Thiruvonam asterisk ,they keep the tender coconuts ,before the deity known as Ilaneerveppu and offer kaanikka before returnig home after worshipping the deity.lacks of people come on this day 

 to worship .The devotees mainly from theeyya community ,observe vritha from vishu day,Though all can place Ilaneer and gingely oil ,seven families have some privilages for this.Of them the privilage of bringing Ilaneer and copper-pot full of gingelly oil on head from the Eruvatti vettakkorumakan templerests with the Eruvatti-thandayaan.The custom of taking these items in procession led by a person from Anjoottan community has been folowed for centuries.He is known as Anjoottaan sthaanikan and he wears the dress of Viirabhadran.The vaadyakkaar belong to traditional families.The devotees have special caps made of arace-nut palm leaf.with pearls fixed to colourful threads.
The important ritual on the next day (Avittam asterisk) is Muththappan varavu(arrival o Bhoothaganas to the Yaaga bhoomi)accompanied by Curichyaas.At the specified muhoorththam Eazhillakkaar enter the Bndaarappura take the sword of Sree Veerabhadra and honour the Muththappan and bid him farewell.
Revathi and Rohini asterisks are important..The Aaraadhana of Rohini astersisk is the privilage of Krumaththoor illam 

SHIIVELi

From the makam day women are prohibited to enter the Thiruvam chira.The main thantri is allowed to sit on the Maniththara. Nallooraan sthaanikan accompanied by 13 persons of Kushava community ,proceed to the Maniththara after observing vrithm.Contiuining  the vritham at Thiruvanchira ,they wear valkkala (cloth made of bark)and holy ashes are smeared all over the body.Each one enters the Maniththara  independently and worship the deity at night in secret and takes prasadam from the thantri and leaves in disguise after taking food.These rites are held for three days.(on Makam,Pooram and Uthram asterisks)
On Aththam astersik 1000 kalasams are offered.On the next day morning  Abhishekam of the swayam-bhoo idol is done.There after a macchaan  (a  sthaanikan)takes out the bhadradeepam from the shed at Maniththaraand the shed is up rooted and its materials are put into  the holy waters of Vaavalipuzha. Then Klashaabhishekam 

is held. Thereafter Dakshinas to thantris are given by the ooraalars. 
Taking sword back to the Muthireri temple is the next ritual.All the ornanments and idols are taken back to the respective locations besides performing a yaathraaa-bali at the Ikkare kottiyoor temple.Then the atiyanthirakkaaran takes food from Maniththara and pollutes it.This pollution continues till the next season.

Sree Mahaadeva(Dakshinaamoorththi)) Mattannur

Sree 
Mahaadeva(Dakshinaamoorththi)
temple Mattannur

Route:-29 kms north-east of Kannur.500 meters east (via the temple road)of Mattannur busstand .

The idol of Lord Siva  is believed to have been installed by Khara maharshi.Once the shrines of both Mahaadeva and Mahaavishnu were independent and eqally important (Though the idol of Mahaavishnu was installed earlier than the idol of Mahaadeva).Earlier the temple belonged to the Pulleri illam but in 1971 the temple was taken over by kshethra samithi as there was no progeny in the illam.

 The idol of Lord Mahaadeva with the sanklpam of Sree Dakshinaamoorththi is made of sila linga

At present the temple owns 4acres of land of which90 cents constitute the temple complex.The structures there are sreekovil namaskaaramandapam,chuttambalam,sub shrines natappura valiyabalikkal,depasthambham ,kooththumaatam,naagarthara,kalavara,gopuram,sathram

the  sopaanam has direct steps with vyaalimukham at the base.

The walls has niches with 2 ghanadwaaras and 2 functional doors.The chuttambalm is peculiar with kannati- ththara(glazed tiles) 

at the front portion besides a projected vaathilmaatam.

on the north of the natappanththal is is kooththambalam and nagar-thara.

The Naaga idols are in the usual form of sitting posture with raised hoods.

The ancient shrine of Mahaavishnu faces east.It has a separate namaskaaramandapam in the front

 Mahaavishnu is in the standing pose

The subshrine of Lord Ayyappa is at south east facing east with a paattupura at its front The dwithala gopuram is located at west.

 Ayyappa is in sitting posture

The Bhoothaththaan thara is at north east on the northern side of the gopuram 

 for bhoothaththaan (believed to be very powerful)  thara only

there is a double storyed building with many rooms.

There are exquiste wodden carvings of paalaazhi madhanam,kamsavadham,paarvathiiswayamvarametc at the ceiling of namaskaaramandapam.On the vaathilmaatam ,wood carvings based on the theme of Ramaayana can be seen.

The temple is kept open on all days from  am to 12 pm and 5 .30 to 8 pm 

Temple tank

Offerings mrthyunjaya-homam,paalpaayasam,pushpaanjali and dhaara are popular

Festivals The annual festival is held for 7 days from 15th to 22nd Kumbham.Ezhunnallaththuof the deity in the ratham (temple-car) is a unique feature of this temple.

The thantri is from the Azhakathth mana of Kotakara(Trichur)

and saanthikkaaran is appointed from Nampoothiris.

Sree Cherukottaaram Thamburaatti Temple Koodali Theyyam

Sree Cherukottaaram Thamburaatti Temple (Koodali )Theyyam Festival 

 for the ritual dance

Route :-In the Kannur-Mattannur/Irikkoor route Koodali Postoffice stop .One kilometer

 through the Appakkatavu road and take  left road and walk 800 meters from here

DEITY SREE PORKILIIMAYA  
18th century temple 

Important days pooram in the month of Meenam,Vishu in Metam,10th Thulam,

Kumbham 4th&5th

Festival days 4th and 5th Kumbham(Thiruulsavam)

Festival staarted  at 7.30 pm (on the 16th February )with Thottam  accompanied 

with 6 chendas,1 ilaththaalam and 2 naadaswarams

Theyyam dances were performed on 17th night and 18th(day)

Paruththi veeran ,Bhootham,Gulikan,Puthiya bhagavathi and Tamburaatti were the theyyams

bhootham

gulikan

paraththi veeran

puthiya bhagavathi

thamburaatti

thottam(first stage) of gulikan

Sree(Pareekkatavu) Kurumba BhagavathI Temple Dharmatam

Sree(Pareekkatavu) KurumbaBhagavathi Temple Dharmatam 

Route:- 5 kms north of Thalasseri,and half km west of Meethalepeetika

Dateable to 15th century.The idol of this temple is swayambhoo.

Deities The sanctum sanctorm is within a palliyara(resembling a naalukettu) A peetha represent the deity and it is treated as swayambhoo.For Cheriya bhagavathi and Dandan there are only sankalpa sthaanas and no idols

The legends  Goddess Kurumbabhagavathi of Kaithaatt,near Valapattanam,proceeded towards south by sea along with Her body-guard Dandakan and other maids and reached here.She first visited Thaazheppuraand Valiyapurahouses and finally the present abode belonging to AaangaloorNayanaar family. It is said that prior to visit of Goddess ,there was another temple here in earlier times dedicated to Lord Vishnu.Being a sacred site She decided to to make Her presence felt at the site.

sub shrine of Dandan

2 The Goddess gave darsan to one ardent devotee and She directed him to be the narthakan (dancer)of the temple.He is known as Aayaththaar.Once an aayaththaar is dead ,it is difficult to find out a successor,since a person could be an Aayaththaar from that family only if he gets a vision and direction of the Goddess to take up the assignment for conducting poojas.As this was the practice ,the temple had on several occasions,no Aayaththaar.In the absence of Aaayaththaar, the karanavar of Thaazheppura family has the right to conduct pooja.The komaram of Dandakan known as Maanakkan hails from Ezharakkaran family .As in the case of Aayaththaar, the Maanakkan is also determined as per the vision of the Goddess. In case of absence of vision the right of acting as komaram also vests with a person belonging to Thaazheppura family.

The temple is kept open on all Tuesdays and Fridays and deepaaraadhana held at 6 am and 6.45 pm 

Offerings Gingellyoil,pattu(redsatin),ilaneer,sarkkiarapaayasam are the main offerings 

Festivals 

 Thaalappoli(if Aayaththaar of the temple is present),

Pooramaholsavam (8 days in Meenam)

,shivaraathri,navaraathri,10th Thulam.

The Thantri belongs to Velloor illam of Edakkaatu

Sreeraamatemple(Antaloorkkaavu)Dharmatam

Antaloorkkaavu Dharmatam

root:-8kms north ofThalasseri at Antaloor via Meethalepeedika and Chirakkuni

The abode of Naagas

The legend-A portion of the sparkemnated from the chaapakhandm(brokenbow)of Lord Rama at the time of Seethaaswayamvaram fell at thaazhekkaavu and split into 3.Experiencing the immaculate power of the 3 pronged spark Sage Narada directed Lord Parashuraamma to install 3 powers each spark representing viz Daivaththaar,Ankakkaaran and Bappooraan.The sankalpa of the deity of thaazhekkaavu is SEETHA .Since the khanta (portion)of vill(bow)fell at this place it got the name khanta-vill -oor and by usage it became ANTALOOR

it seems it's Festival day

Deities Rama,Lakshmna,Hanuuman
The main deity is Sreerama made of panchaloham in the form of hand mirror.

Sreeraama(Daivaththaar)sreekovil

 The idol of Sreelashmana is without any form.The idol of Anjaneya is made of panchaloham. During festival days kolams are staged but the names of these deities are Daivaththaar,Ankakkaaran and Bappuran

sreekovil of Anjaneeya

Time of worship The temple is kept openon all days from 5-8.30 am and5-8.30pm 

Temple on Festival day

 Offerings-45 items of vazhipaatus -pushpaanjali,sarkkarappaayasam,neyyuppaasyasam,

paalpaayasam,niravilakku appam are important

 The moolasthaanam of the Temple ,known as Thaazhekaavu was about 210 meeters north of the present temple

Festivals  It is a regional festival for 7 days from 1st-7th kumbham
1st day thengathaakkal
2nd day chakka thaazhthal,chakka ezhunnallaththu
3rd day kutavaravu from Meloor
onthe 4th day kettiyaattams ofNagakaanthan,Nagabhagavathi,Vettakkorumakan,
bappooran 

On dusk of the 4th day The ritual ofThirumutiveppuof Daivaththaar(Sreerama) Ankakkaaran(Lakshmna)and Bappooraan(Sree hanuumaan)followed by nerchavaangal and aattangal based on the theame es of Ramaayana.After midnight thirumuti azhichupaachal is held followed by kettiyaattam

on the 5th and 6th days major items are nerchavaangal,ezhunnallaththu to thazhekkaavuand Melekkaavu and kettiyaattam in all these 7days fire works are held at mid night All devotees in the locality observe vrithafor the 7 days of festival by taking strict vegetarian diet with aval malar and fruits as special menu 

The major performing is theyyam kettu A notable feature is the participation of people irrespective of religion,cast or creed

THANTHRI IS FromVELLOOR ILLAM 
and 
Saanthikkaaran is from thiyya community