THRIPPALURMAHADEVA TEMPLE, ALATHUR, PALAKKADDISTRICT , KERALA -COMPILED
Dear friends, Today my posting is about Thrippalur Mahadeva Temple,dedicated to Lord Shiva,Krishna and Narasimha which is situated on the banks of the Gayatririver at Alathur of Palakkad District in Kerala state. Therefore, theSaiva-Vaishnava glow is a holy abode. References to this temple are found in many of the classicsof Malayalam Literature. Hope a divine reading Gopalakrishnan 22-5-2025 Legends Parasurama hadconsecrated 108 Shiva temples and 108 Durga temples for the well-being andprosperity of the people in Kerala . This Siva temple is one among the 108 Sivatemples. Another legend is thatthe Siva Lingam in this temple was installed by Demon Kara. Giant Kara got three shiva lingams,after his prolonged Thapas, and he carried these Lingams one in his right hand,second in left hand and third one in the mouth bitten by teeth. He installed the right hand Lingam at Ayalur,Left hand L one in Pallavur. All these temples are situated within five kilometers. Mentioned in history as one of the 108 Shiva temples ofKerala, it is believed that Khara (of Ramayana fame) installed the idol by histeeth. Hence, the namePallavur. There are two more temples in this complex-One is dedicated to Lord Narasimha and LordKrishna The temple has sub-deities of Ganapathi, Subramanya, Ayyappaand Nagas. The tantra of the temple is with Andaladi and Kaimukku. History It is believed that the structures of temple were constructedby Pallavas of Kanchi in their architectural style. It is also said that the Pallavur was the secondcapital of Pallava Kingdom and hence the place got the name Pallavur (land ofPallavas). Later the temple came to the control of five Namboodirifamilies and they managed the temple administration till 1945. Then the HR&CE Department took over the control and nowthe temple is under the control of Malabar Devaswom Board. Temple Architecture The temple complex having three main sreekovil for Lord Shiva, Lord Krishna and LordNarasimha. The two-storey intricate carvings on the shrine of LordShiva reflect its antiquity. The Sanctum Sanctorum of Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna are in square shape.The shrine of Lord Krishna has two storeys and the Narasimha is circular(rounda-sanctum). Idols of the goddesses are facing west. The interior of the temple is covered with polished granitestones. The well-packed small space gives its atmosphere an antique feel. Onthe east side of the temple, there is a kind of old paintings on the wall thatappear to have been built by a devotee of Trippalur Shiva on closer inspection. It is believed thatthese painting are a century old. Those who did this seem to have done a gooddeal of research on the temple and its legends. The temple has a large pond outside the western temple gate. It is believed that the temple wasbuilt to calm the power of Lord Shiva. Main Deity: Lord Siva in the formof Rudraksha sila linga is the principal deity. Sub Deities Parvathi, Ganapathy, Subrahmanya with his consorts, Sasthaand Nagas Poojas As in other Siva temples and Krishna temples and bhagavathitemples. Temple Festival The annual festival of the temple is held in the month ofMeenom (March-April).Other main festivals are Deepavali and Navaratri in thetemple. Navarathri festival Navaratri is a festival dedicated to the worship of the Hindudeity Durga. The word Navratri means 'nine nights' in Sanskrit, Nava meaningnine and Ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Devi are worshiped. The tenth day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami. Themajor story associated with Navratri is the battle between the great GoddessDurga and the demon Mahishasura, who represents Egotism. According to a Puraniclegend, the mighty demon Mahishasura defeated the gods and their king Indra. Theythen approached Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwar, who decided to destroy thedemon. So they all combinedtheir energies, and gave rise to Shakti and appealed to Goddess Durga tocome to their aid. Goddess Durga equipped with lethal weapons and riding a ferociouslion, the Goddess in all her awesome majesty, destroyed the evil one withoutmuch ado. The 10th day, on which the goddess killed Mahishasura, is celebratedas Dusshera or Vijayadashami as the victory of good over evil. Dussehra (tenth day) is one of the significant Hindufestivals, celebrated with pomp and fervour all over the country. Navaratri is divided into sets ofthree days to adore different aspects of the supreme goddess. On thefirst three days, the Mother is invoked as a powerful force called Durga in order to destroy allour impurities, vices and defects. The next three days, the Mother is adored asa giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi,who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees theinexhaustible wealth. The final set of three days is spent in worshipping themother as the goddess of wisdom,Saraswati. In order have all round success in life, we need theblessings of all three aspects of the divine mother; hence, the worship fornine nights. The last three days of the Navaratri are called Durgashtami,Mahanavami, and Vijayadasami, and they are considered more sacred than theother days for Devi worship. Ullattil Vilakku Narayanaswami Iyer family Vilakku ChinmayaMission Vilakku Kandeth Vilakku Sambamoorthy Iyer Vilakku PerincheryVilakku Eazhaam VilakkuDeshavilakku Jana Vilakku DESCRIPTION (How festival is celebrated) Nine days festival starts with Ullattil Vilakku and ends withJana Vilakku. All these days the temple will be decorated with flowers andlamps and various programmes are staged. The thayambaka forms an inevitablepart of every vilakku. The Seventh Day of thefestival is the most important and draws people from far off places. Theresponsibility to conduct the 7th day festival is with the three Brahmin sects– Vadamal, Brihacharanam and Ashtasahasram. From several decades till this day, the 7thday festival is known for bringing famous and gigantic elephants from aroundKerala and for the Panchavadyam performed on the particular day bypercussionists continuing the foundation laid by the late Pallavur trio, LateSri Pallavur Appu Marar, Late Sri Pallavur Manian Marar and Late Sri PallavurKunjukuttan Marar. This is also substantiated by the fact the school known as'Kerala Kala Vadya' owes its origin to Pallavur and that the sons of the latePallavur trio are continuing the legendary Panchavadyam. Other details on navarathri festival: Day Name of Vilakku(conducting it as a matter of Right from time immemorial) •Ullattil Vilakku(Ullattil Family) •Narayanaswami Iyer family Vilakku •Chinmaya Mission Vilakku•Kandeth Vilakku (Kandeth Family) •Sambamoorthy Iyer Vilakku •PerincheryVilakku (Perinchery Family) •Eazhaam Vilakku (Brahmin Community) •Deshavilakku( Deshom as a whole, all communities) •Jana Vilakku (Brahmin Youths) •DevaswomVilakku (if required as per traditional calendar) These were when thetraditional festivals were celebrated with caparisoned elephants, pomp andsplendour at the Tripallavurappan temple – the Aarattu in March – April &the Seventh Day Navaratri festival. These are held to propitiate Lord Shiva,the presiding deity. Specialty of templePond The temple has a large pond outside the Western gate. It isbelieved to be made to calm down the power of Lord Siva in this temple. Temple timings 5am –10 am, 5pm–8 pm Location: Pallavur is situated 22 km. south of Palakkad town onKoodallur-Nenmara road. Nearest Railway Station: Palakkad (22 km) Nearest Airport: Coimbatore (82 km) Kunissery bus stop – 2.1 km Address of the temple The Excutive Officer, Tripallavur Siva Temple Tripallavur,Palakkad, Kerala Pin code 678688. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1417960126.174013.1747904422880%40mail.yahoo.com.
