Mahadeva Temple, Thiruvaloor – Legends

Mahadeva Temple, Thiruvaloor – Legends

108 Shiva Temples of Kerala:

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.

Evening Deepa Aradhana Darshan:

As per legend, Bhattathiripad of Sooryakaladi Mana got a curse from Yakshi and Gandharva that he would die on 14^th day from the curse. They also further stated that he would not die if he is able to attend the evening deepa aradhana darshan of Thiruvaloorappan. An oracle on 13^th day from the temple insisted to conduct the Ucha Pooja by 10 AM tomorrow and the temple should be closed. Bhattathiripad of Sooryakaladi Mana arrived at Tiruvallur on 14^th day and could not pray as the Nada was closed earlier.

As per the curse, he had a terrible end. He could not able to bear the pain. He jumped and bite the wooden roof of the temple to manage the sufferings. The teeth marks and his footsteps could be still seen on the wooden roof and granite stone at the entrance. The evening deepa aradhana darshan is considered to be very auspicious. It is also believed that if one does darshan then his death won’t happen that day.

Jatayu wings fell down here:

As per legend, the demon Ravana was abducting the goddess Sita to Lanka when Jatayu tried to rescue her. Jatayu fought valiantly with Ravana, but as Jatayu was very old Ravana soon defeated him by clipping his wings. It is said that his wings fell down at this place.