Puramundekkadu Mahadeva Temple, Vattamkulam, Kerala

Puramundekkadu Mahadeva Temple, Vattamkulam, Kerala

Puramundekkadu Mahadeva Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located at Vattamkulam Village in Malappuram District in Kerala, India. This Temple is considered as one of the 108 Shiva Temples created by Lord Parasurama. It is one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage centres in Kerala.  The temple is also considered as one among the five Shiva temples around Guruvayur.

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 temple is facing towards east. The temple follows Kerala style architecture. The main shrine consists of sanctum and namaskara mandapa. The sanctum is square on plan. The sanctum enshrines the presiding deity, Mahadeva in the form of Shiva Lingam. 

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 3 Kms from Edappal Bus Stop, 12 Kms from Kuttippuram Railway Station, 13 Kms from Ponnani, 28 Kms from Guruvayur, 29 Kms from Guruvayur Railway Station, 44 Kms from Malappuram, 61 Kms from Kozhikode Airport and 96 Kms from Cochin Airport. The Temple is situated on Palakkad to Ponnani Road.

Location