Sreekanteswaram Temple,
Avanoor, Kerala
Sreekanteswaram Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located at Avanoor Village in Thrissur 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.
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.
History
Avanoor, earlier known as Avunganoor, has been mentioned
in Chandrolsavam, a Manipravala work written in 15th Century CE. The
temple belonged to Aattoor Changaliyod Vaadyaan Mana.
The Temple
This temple is facing towards west. Presiding Deity is
called as Sreekanteswara and is facing west. He is housed in the sanctum in the
form of Lingam. He is considered to be in Rowdra Bhava without the presence of
Devi. There is a Namaskara Mandapa situated before the sanctum. It houses a
Nandi facing the sanctum. There are few stones in the place of Balikallu at the
temple.
There are shrines of Bhagavathy and Ayyappa in the outer
prakaram of the temple premises. Naga Idol can be found under a tree in the
outer prakaram. Dilapidated Dwarapalakas can be found in the inner prakaram.
There are shrines of Ganapathy and Murugan found near the sanctum. There is an
ancient pond provided with laterite stone steps for reaching the pond.
Festivals
Thiruvathira during the Malayalam month of Dhanu is the
main festival associated with this temple.
Connectivity
The temple is located at
about 4 Kms from Mundur Bus Stop, 6 Kms from Mulangunnathukavu Railway Station,
6 Kms from Mundattikode, 12 Kms from Thrissur, 13 Kms from Thrissur Railway
Station, 13 Kms from Wadakkanchery Railway Station, 14 Kms from Wadakkanchery, 15
Kms from Kunnamkulam, 20 Kms from Guruvayur and 68 Kms from Cochin Airport. The Temple is
located near to Althara Junction on Thrissur - Mundattikode Road. The Temple is
located at about 4 Kms east of the Thrissur – Kunnamkulam highway from Mundur Junction.
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