Vaikom Mahadeva Temple

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To the busy modern day traveller-- and the pilgrim!-- more accustomed to a fast life and "seeghra darshans" (available today at many temples), the Vaikom Mahadeva temple is sure to present a new challenge and an opportunity. Everything about the ancient temple is big, including its grand proportions, the vast eight-acre courtyard, not to speak of the 6 feet tall Siva Lingam inside the sanctum or the imposing Nandi sculpted out of a huge monolith.

These days apparently we have lost the "connect" with the 'raison detre' of temples and darshans. In the olden days temple darshan was more a slow ritual, in whose performance one got the time and the occasion to unburden oneself of the mundane cares and worries of life and try and become one with the Supreme. In these days of 'instant' everything, these rituals have been condensed into a heady whirl, at the end of which you head home with machine made and packed 'prasadam' that has had no 'darshan' of the Lord and so cannot be called "naivedyam" by any stretch of imagination. Think how many great souls have spent a few weeks of "bhajanam" at various shrines, when they spend the day and night in temple precincts, subsisting on the frugal means provided by the temple, chanting 'keertans' all the time, and with the blessings of the Lord have completed enviable tasks like the composition of great works that have stood the test of time-- the most famous of such perhaps being the Jnanappana by Poonthanam Namboothiri. Surely the Vaikom Mahadeva temple is likely to make us take things slowly and attempt a reconnect with our bygone ways of devotion and self purification.

Vaikom, the town on the shores of the Vembanad lake is synonymous with the abode of 'Vaikkathappan'-- Lord Siva, the God of Gods. The temple has the distinction that rituals here have been unbroken since its inception. The temple as we see it today traces its roots to the 16th C. A unique aspect of the temple is that here Siva is worshipped in three 'bhavas'. In the morning He is Dakshinamoorthy, the giver of knowledge and wisdom; in the afternoon Siva assumes the form of Kirata Moorthy, who blessed Arjuna with the Pasupatastra, symbolic of success and invincibility; in the evening the Lord appears as Sambasiva, the happy householder, with Goddess Parvati, and sons Ganesa and Karthikeya. Interestingly both Saivaites and Vaishnavaites worship at this temple with equal fervour.

Vaikom Mahadeva temple was one of the first temples to open its doors to all irrespective of caste. The Travancore Maharaja Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma signed the Temple Entry Proclamation ( on November 12, 1936) following the Vaikom Satyagraha and the persuasion of social reformers like Sree Narayana Guru, Mannath Padmanbhan, Dr Palpu and Gandhiji. This was a landmark event in the social history of Kerala.

Myths and lore are intertwined with the history of this ancient shrine, which is believed to be one among the 108 Sivalayas consecrated by Sage Parasurama (the sixth Avatar of Vishnu) himself. Legends connect it with the story of Kharasura and how his piety earned him three Siva Lingas from the Lord himself. On his way south with a Linga each in his hands and the third around his neck, Kharasura put them down while resting, and afterwards the Lingas would not budge. It is believed that the Linga in his right hand was at Vaikom, the one in his left hand was at Ettumanoor, while the one around his neck lay at Kaduthuruthy. From this story emerges the belief that it is particularly auspicious if one could have darshan at all the three temples on the same day before 'Ucha pooja', and this is equivalent to a visit to Mount Kailas, the Himalayan abode of Siva. Khara attained moksha after entrusting the upkeep of the holy sites to Sage Vyaghrapada, according to popular lore.

Vyaghrapada is supposed to have spent his days in worshipping the Lord, and one day Siva appeared before him with his consort Parvathy on a Krishna Ashtami day. This is celebrated today as the famous "Vaikkathashtami" in the month of Vrishchikam (November-December), a 12-day festival that draws huge crowds. On the day of Ashtami there are no poojas or naivedyams at the temple as it is believed that the Lord is on a ritual fast for the victory of his son Kartikeya upon Tarakasura, though 'aana dana' is offered to all bhaktas for Subramanya's success by the 'Annadana Prabhu'. The Udayanapuram Subramanya temple is about 3 km north of the Vaikom temple and on the night of Ashtami day there is a grand reception ('Ashatami vilakku') when Vaikathappan awaits the arrival of his son after vanquishing Tarakasura and Soorapadmasura. Lakhs throng to witness this grand function.

Lord Mahadeva is popularly called 'Vaikkathappan' and 'Annadana Prabhu'. The belief is that the Lord has an insistence that nobody who visits him should go hungry. Hence the popular offering of 'anna danam' at the temple every day for the pilgrims. Another quaint practice is the priest coming to the gopuram every night and calling out 'Is there anybody who hasn't had dinner?' before closing up for the night. 

Maha Sivarathri too is celebrated here with pomp and piety as is the practice in every Siva temple.

The sprawling temple is built in the traditional Kerala style with a huge courtyard and four grand entryways in the cardinal points. But the west gate is permanently locked and there is an interesting story behind that of family feuds among the 108 families that had rights in the running of the temple. The Sanctum, though it appears circular, is actually oval in shape and is supposed to be the clever handiwork of none other than the legendary master carpenter Perumthachan. (The remnants of the basement of the huge Kooththambalam at the Sree Mahadeva temple, Chengannur, also is elliptical in shape. It is believed that both these structures were built by Perumthachchan.) The Siva Linga in the sanctum and the Nandi facing it are uncommonly large in keeping with the grand scale of the temple. The Namaskara Mandapa roof is decorated with carvings of scenes from the Ramayana. An interesting departure seen here is Lord Ganesa (called Stambha Ganapathy) ensconced in the north-east corner near the entry next to the huge Balikkal after the flagstaff.

The huge temple tank is to the north of the temple. Also, in the north-east there is a well called Sivananda Theertham, believed to have originated from a few drops of water that fell from the dreadlocks of the Lord as He was dancing the Ananda Thandava. Another holy water body is the Aratihara Theertham at the eastern side of the temple, a ritual immersion in which is supposed to be equivalent to bathing in the Ganges at Kashi, according to popular lore.

For the pilgrim and the traveller a visit to the ancient temple steeped in lore is sure to be a connect with our hoary past and a cherished memory, to speak nothing of the bounteous blessings of the Lord of Lords!

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