Vanchuleswaram - At the abode of the Family deity of Cochin Emperors

Thiruvanchikulam Mahadeva temple is considered as one of the oldest temples of Kerala which is situated just 2 Kms away from Kodungalloor. The temple is more than 2000 years old and the presiding deity, Lord Shiva, served as the Family Deity of Cholas. It is believed that Lord Shiva self-incarnated (swayambhoo) here as Vanchuleswarathappan. No separate shrine for Goddess Parvathi can be seen here as she resides within the sanctum of Lord Shiva and hence deity is considered to be in Sadashiva Bhava. Dakshina moorthy is also enshrined here facing east in contrary to his usual South-faced posture. Parusurama performed a pooja in this temple to absolve the sin he attained while killing his Mother. Of the 274 Saiva Thiruppathis, which are considered auspicious by the saivaites, the only one in Kerala is at Thiruvanchikulam.

"Samayakkuravars" as they were called, the holy saints dedicated to serve Lord Shiva and his devotees. There were 63 saints and Shri Sundarar aka Sundaramurthi Nayanar was the most sought after and famous for his personality, knowledge, devotion and dedication. He was called "Thambiran Thozhan" which means "friend of Lord Shiva" who was born to serve him. He was born near Viluppuram, Tamil Nadu. The Chera King Cheraman Perumal (Adi Sankaracharya was his contemporary), who ruled around 8th and 9th centuries, came to Thiruvaroor and Sundarar promptly received him and accorded a red-carpet welcome. After a brief stay, Sundarar accompanied Cheraman Perumal to Kerala after visiting various temples enroute to Kodungalloor, including Pandya and Kongu kingdoms. He was given a receptive treatment by Cheraman Perumal. He, after a short stay, came back to Tamil Nadu and sung in praise of his beloved lord.

Returning to Kerala at the age of 18 to his most liked friend Cheraman Perumal, he prayed to the Lord there to remove his attachement to worldly pleasures. Acceding to his prayers, Lord Shiva ordered Sundarar to bring 1000-Tusked-white elephants to Kailash and a blue horse by Cheraman Perumal. Devas took him to Kailasa. Sundarar thought of Cheraman. Cheraman sitting in horse, circled Sundarar three times and reached Kailasa before him. Sundarar was excited with the grace of God showered on him and his friend Cheraman and sang a song in praise of the Lord there.

This hymn is called "Thirukkayilaya Ula". The celestial God Varuna ensured this song has reached safely to the temple of Thiruvanchikkulam through rain. Aadi Swathi (in the month of Karkkidakom) is of festive significance commemorating Sundarar's association with the temple and this is the day the celestial journey was taken place. Special poojas are performed on that day every year.

The Shiva Lingam here in the sanctum sanctorum is having 4 inches length, 12 inches diameter and is in semi-circle form. A scar mark can be seen on the left side on the top of the head. According to the myths, when Lord Shiva and Parvathi appeared before Arjuna in the form of hunter and huntress, Arjuna shot an arrow which hit the forehead of Lord Shiva causing the scar. Shankhabhishekam is the main offering at this temple.

Mekkad Namboothiri had done 12 years of worship(Bhajanam) at Thiruvanchikkulam to save his family from poverty. As the worship commences, one day Vasuki(the serpent God) came before him and told that he will come to the Mekkad's home to eradicate his sorrows. Vasuki came to Mekkad's home hiding himself in a palm-leaf umbrella. Thenceforth Mekkad started worshipping Vasuki at home and entitled as 'Pambummekkad' and soon became rich. This abode of snakes is about 6 km East of Mahadevar temple and famous for serpent worship. People from all over the state and beyond visit here for resolving the curses related with serpants.

The temple was built based on the architectural style prevailed in Kerala and this one has a conical copper plated Vimanam. There is a Namaskara Mandapa and Gopura dwarams on the east and west side. Cheraman Perumal's image is carved on the temple walls and there is a memorial to him nearby. A majestic tiered brass lamp adorns the temple and the sanctum is in the form of a charriot. According to inscriptions, idols have been brought from Chidambaram and installed during 1801. There is a separate shrine dedicated to Cheraman and Sundarar. There are more than 25 deities giving darshan in separate enclosures in the praharams. There is no other temple in Kerala which has so many Praharams like here. On the left side of the entrance, there is a stone carving of Lord Shiva with Parvathi as right and left respectively.

The sub-deities are

1. Ganapathy
2. Cheraman
3. Sundaramurthy Nayanar
4. Brungeeradi
5. Sandhyavelakkal Shiva
6. Palliyara Shiva
7. Shakthi Panchakshari
8. Bhagavathi
9. Parvathi
10. Parameswara
11. Pradosha nrutham (Shiva as the cosmic dancer)
12. Sapthamathrukkal (Seven Mothers)
13. Rishaba (the divine ox of Shiva)
14. Chandikesa
15. Unnithevar
16. Ayyappa
17. Nagaraja
18. Pashupathi
19. Nadakkal Shiva
20. Subrahmaniya
21. Durga Bhagavathi
22. Ganga Bhagavathi
23. Konnakkal Shiva
24. Kottarathil Thevar
25. Nagayakshi
26. Dakshinamurthy
27. Aalthara Gopudan Swami
28. Hanuman

Maha Shivarathri is celebrated as the main festival here which lasts for eight days. On every evening, Dhampathi Pooja is performed in a ritualistic atmosphere. Upon completion of this pooja, there will be a Palliyara Pooja. It is said that 'palliyara darshanam' derives union of separated couples. Childless couples will be blessed with a child if they perform Dhampathi pooja and special significance is attached to it if done on a Pournami(full moon day).

Thiruvanchikulathappan is considered as the family deity of Perumpadappu swaroopam along with Poornatrayeesan. At first Vanneri(Edappal and nearby places) was the capital of Perumpadappu Swaroopam. Even though the capital of Perumpadappu Swaroopam was in Vanneri, Perumpadapu king had a palace in Mahodayapuram(Thiruvanchikulam

[Note that it also acted as the capital of Chera dynasty, until the attack of Cholas(Raja Raja Chola in 994 CE) and to save themselves Cheras(Kulasekhara rama varma - The last Chera ruler) fled to Kollam and formed Venad. Hence Thiruvanchikulam temple came under the ruling of Perumpadappu swaroopam.


When the Zamorins attacked Vanneri in the later part of the 13th century, Perumpadappu Swaroopam shifted their capital from Vanneri to Mahodayapuram(Thiruvanchikulam). This continued till the beginning of 15th century. In 1405 Perumpadappu Swaroopam shifted their capital from Mahodayapuram to Mattancheri and then to Thripunithura(Cochin). From there on Perumpadappu Swaroopam got the name Cochin Royal Family. By the end of the 14th century Samoothiri conquered Thrikannamathilakam and it became a threat for Mahodayapuram and this may be the reason that Perumpadappu Swaroopam changed their capital to Cochin.

Anyway, for a period of time, the temple came under the guardianship of Samoothiri. On a Kodungallore Bharani night Dutches attacked the temple and destroyed the idol. Many soldiers of Samoothiri died in the battle. Samoothiri had to flee back to Malabar. Later, temple was also attacked by the soldiers of Tippu during his invasion.


In 1801 the temple was renovated and the deity was re-consecrated. As said before, the idol was brought from Chidambaram and is now under the management of Cochin Devaswom Board.