Chidambaraswamy Temple, Chowwara, Kerala

Chidambaraswamy Temple, Chowwara, Kerala

Chidambaraswamy Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in Chowwara of Ernakulam District in Kerala, India. This Temple is considered as one of the 108 Shiva Temples created by Lord Parasurama.

Legends

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Parasurama created the land between Gokarna and Kanyakumari. Parasurama the sixth avatar of Maha Vishnu, he was youngest son of sage Jamadagni and Renuka. It is said that Kerala was reclaimed from the ocean using his axe for donating to Brahmins after killing of King Kartavirya Arjuna and other Kshatriyas. He split this land in to 64 villages (64 gramas). Out of these 64 villages, 32 villages are in between Perumpuzha and Gokarnam and the spoken language was Tulu.

The remaining 32 villages were in Malayalam speaking area between Perumpuzha and Kanyakumari. According legends, after donating the land to Brahmins108 Maha Shiva Lingam and Durga Idols were installed in these 64 villages. These 108 Shiva Temples are mentioned in the Shivala Stotram and song is written in Malayalam language. Of the 108 Siva Temples, 105 temples are situated in Kerala state, 2 temples in Karnataka and 1 in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu.

Among these temples, the Lord Shiva of Gokarnam Mahabaleswara Temple in the north and Goddess Kumari of Kanyakumari temple in the south were considered as the protectors of Kerala. The first temple created by Parasurama was the Thrissur Vadakkunnathan Temple and the last one was the Thrikkariyoor Mahadeva Temple. This Temple is considered as one of the 108 Shiva Temples created by Lord Parasurama.

The Temple

This is a west facing Temple. Presiding Deity is called as Chidambara Swamy. He is housed in the sanctum in the form of Lingam. The Siva Linga in this temple was brought from the world famous Nataraja Temple at Chidambaram. Hence, the deity came to be called as Chidambara Swamy. The Lord here is worshipped as Kirata Moorthy. There is north facing shrine for Nataraja in the temple premises.

Festivals

The annual temple festival is celebrated here in the Malayalam month of Makara which commences on the star of Thiruvathira. The week-long festival ends with Aarattu. Traditional art and music performances along with other cultural activities are the highlights of this annual festival. Maha Shivarathri festival of the temple celebrates in the Malayalam month of Kumbha (February - March).

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 3 Kms from Chowwara Railway Station, 5 Kms from Aluva Railway Station, 5 Kms from Aluva Bus Stand, 6 Kms from Aluva, 6 Kms from Aluva Metro Station, 6 Kms from Cochin Airport, 9 Kms from Kalady, 10 Kms from Angamaly, 24 Kms from Ernakulam and 226 Kms from Thiruvananthapuram. Auto, Taxis, KSRTC and Privates buses ply to this temple from Cochin.

Location