Vaikom Mahadeva Temple

The Kerala state of India is called God's own country. The state has a lot of beautiful sites, waterfalls, hill stations, and wildlife sanctuaries. In addition to all these tourist attractions, Kerala also has a lot of important temples. Guruvayurappan, Bhagavati, Iyappa, and Shiva are the deities mainly worshiped across Kerala. Guruvayur has a famous temple for Guruvayurappan. Chottanikkara has the most important temple of Bhagavati, and Iyappa's prominent temple at Sabarimala. Similarly, Kerala also has many vital temples for Lord Shiva. Among them, the Mahadeva temple at Vaikom can be considered the most important.

Vaikom is a small town located in the Kottayam district of Kerala. The famous Shiva temple in this town is called Vaikathappan. The Vaikathappan temple or Vaikom Mahadeva temple is believed to be there since 'Treta yuga', and hence it is considered one of the oldest temples of Kerala. The temple, along with Ettumanoor Siva Temple and Kaduthuruthy Thaliyil Mahadeva Temple, is considered part of three prominent temples in the region.

Temple Legend:

An Asura named Kharasura did penance for the attainment of Moksha. Lord Shiva, pleased with his penance, granted all the boons he asked for and presented him with three Lingas drawn out of his holy body. He ordered the Asura to worship the Lingas to attain Moksha. While returning from the Himalayas, the Asura who was carrying these three Lingas felt tired. He placed them in three places, and he couldn't lift them back. The Linga that Khara placed with his right arm is at Vaikom, the one placed with his left arm is at Ettumannoor and the last one placed with his neck is at Kaduthuruthy.

Temple Layout:

The Vaikathappan temple of Voikom is one of Kerala's most prominent temples, spread over 8 acres of land. The east-facing temple has four towers on four sides. The place where it is believed that Shiva and Parvati gave darshan to Vyagrapatha Maharishi is called Vyagrapatha Sthanam. A big Nandi idol is located near the golden flagstaff. 

The presiding deity Vaikathappan is in the form of Shiv Linga. The gigantic image of Linga is adorned with Chandrakala (crescent), three eyes, a nose and four hands with Saiva abharanams(ornaments) in pure gold. The icon is too high (around six feet) and made of black stone.

The temple also houses other shrines such as Panachikkal Bhagavati, Sthambha Vinayaka and Sarpa (snake god).

Happy travelling.

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