The visit
to this Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple at Thrissur was a part of the Malai Nadu Divya
Desams visit from 10th to 14th June 2025, organized
by Mantra Yatra (website). Thanks to Mr. Balaji Davey and
his team of Mantra Yatra for the excellent arrangement and personal care. The
Vadakkunnathan temple and Sree Paramekkavu Bhagavathy temple are once in the
same premises and center of the city.
PC website
Moolavar: Sree Vadakkunnathan
Sree Sankara Narayanan
Sree Ramar
Some of the salient
features of this temple are….
The temple complex
consists of the Shiva Temple, Sankara Narayanan, and Ramar, with entrance gopurams in four directions, but the main entry is from the west. All three temples face
west. The temple's balipeedas are before the nalambalam, in front of respective
temples with entrances.
Shiva Temple...
Shiva’s temple faces west. A tall Shiva lingam with a Jawala metal kavasam. A
stucco Rishabam is on the left side of the nalambalam after the entrance. Dwarapalakas
are at the entrance of the sanctum sanctorum. Namaskara mandapam with a pyramidal
vimanam is in front of the Sree Kovil. Ma Parvati is also in the sanctum sanctorum facing Shiva. Shiva Lingam is white in colour due to continuous application of ghee.
Sankaranarayan Temple…
The temple faces west with a small entrance in the nalambalam. Balipeedam is
before the nalambalam small entrance. Namaskara mandapam with a pyramidal
vimanam is in front of the Sree Kovil. The Sree Kovil vimanam is circular in plan. A two-tala conical vimanam is on the Sree Kovil.
Ramar Temple…
Ramar temple also faces west with a small entrance in the nalambalam. Namaskara
mandapam with a pyramidal vimanam is in front of the Sree Kovil. A Balipeedam
is before the nalambalam entrance. Shankha and Chakra are just opposite Ramar sannidhi in the thiruchuttambalam/outer praharam, a little away from the
balipeedam.
In pradakshinapatha /
inner praharam, Vinayagar, Parvathy, saptamatrikas, and ashtadikpalakas.
In the Thiruchuttambalam/outer praharam Ayyappan/ Sastha Vettakara (Sannidhi is with Gajaprishta Vimana), Simhodhara, Dharma
sastha, Naga Devadas, Gratha Murti, Adi Sankara (paintings are on the walls of
the sannidhi), and a mandapa.
ARCHITECTURE
Shiva Temple…
The Sree Kovil is in a circular plan on a Kapota bandha adhistanam with jagathy,
vrudha kumudam, and kapotam. The bhitti is with koshtas and panjaras. Shiva
leelas, stories are painted on the wall. A conical eka tala vimana is on the
Sree Kovil. The pranala is like a canon, which emerges through the mouth of a
yazhi and is supported by a bhuta gana. Mural paintings depicting various episodes
from the Puranas can be seen on the walls of the temple.
PC website
Sankara Narayana
Temple… The Sree Kovil is in a circular plan on a Kapota
bandha adhistanam with jagathy, vrudha kumudam, and kapotam. The bhitti is with
koshtas and panjaras. A conical dwi/ two tala vimana is on the Sree Kovil.
PC website
Ramar sannidhi… The
Sree Kovil is square in plan on a prati bandha adhistanam with jagathy, vrudha
kumudam, and madhalai. Mahara thundam is on the corners. The bhitti is with
koshtas and panjaras. A pyramidal dwi/two-tala vimana is on the Sree Kovil.
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PC website
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PC website
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PC website
HISTORY AND
INSCRIPTIONS
It is believed that
the temple has existed since ancient times. But no written evidences are found to
prove its antiquity.
Bas reliefs of donors
with their children and a lone Donor statue are outside the platform and
immediately after the east side entrance.
Sree Wadakkunathan
Temple won the 2015 UNESCO ASIA PACIFIC Heritage Award of Excellence
LEGENDS
According to legends, the original “Prathishta” was done by Lord Parasurama, an incarnation of Vishnu, and it must have been done at least four thousand years ago.
The story of the
origin of the Wadakkunathan Temple is briefly narrated in the “Brahmanda Purana”.
Parasurama exterminated the Kshatriyas twenty-one times. To get rid of the sin,
he performed a “yajna” at the end of which he gave away all the land to
Brahmins as “Dakshina”. He wanted to retire to some new land, so he
requested the sea god Varuna to throw up a new piece of land from the sea.
According to some
other versions, Varuna asked Parasurama to hurl his axe into the sea. Parashurama
now wanted to give divine attire to this new land. So he went to Mount
Kailash to his guru, Lord Shiva, and requested him to take abode in Kerala and
thereby bless the region. Shiva, accompanied by his wife Parvati, his sons
Ganesha and Subrahmanya, and his parshadas, went along with Parashurama to
satisfy the desire of his disciple. Shiva stopped at a spot, now Thrissur, for
his seat, and later he and his party disappeared, and Parashurama saw a bright
and radiant Shiva “linga” (aniconic symbol of Shiva) at the foot of a huge
banyan tree. This place where Shiva first manifested his presence through the
“linga” came to be called the “Sreemoolasthana”. This is enunciated in the
story of the beginning of the Sree Wadakkunathan Temple.
For some time, the
linga remained at “Sreemoola Sthana” at the foot of a huge banyan tree. Later, a
ruler of Cochin State, of which Thrissur formed a part, decided to shift
the “linga” to a more convenient place and build a temple. Arrangements were
soon made to reinstall the idol in the new place. But there was an initial
difficulty. The “linga” could not be removed without cutting off a large part
of the banyan tree. While cutting the branches of the tree, there was the
danger of a piece of it falling on the idol and damaging it. When the ruler and
the others did not know what to do, the “Yogatirippadu” came forward with a
solution. He lay over the idol so as to cover it completely and asked the men
to cut the tree. The cutting began, and to the wonder of all, not a piece of the
tree fell anywhere near the idol. The idol was removed with all due rituals and
installed in the new place, where it has remained till now.
This temple and the Paramekkavu Bhagavathy Amman temple are closely associated with each
other. Originally Bhagavathy Amman
temple was within the premises of the Sree Vadakkunatha Temple. When Vadakkunatha
temple was renovated and expanded, the Chaitanya (divine powers) of the Goddess was
shifted to its present location, ie, on the opposite side of the road. As the
original seat of the Goddess was beneath the Illanhi tree at the Vadakkunatha
temple, the first light of the temple lamp is in the direction of the Illanhi tree every
day. The famous Illanhi Thara Melam in connection with Thrissur Pooram, is in
reverence of the Goddess.
POOJAS AND
CELEBRATIONS
Apart from regular
poojas, special poojas are conducted on Maha Shivaratri, Rama Navami, Vaikunta
Ekadasi, Pooram festival, etc.
Pooram festival is
conducted in a grand manner, in which the Krishna temple and Paramekkavu
temples also participate.
Pooram was thought
about and choreographed, more than 200 years ago, by the then ruler of Cochin
State, Shri. Ramavarma, more popularly known as Sakthan Thampuran (1751-1805 CE).
The Pooram festival is celebrated in April–May. The festival will be
conducted during the day and night.
TEMPLE TIMINGS
The temple will be
kept open from 04.00 hrs to 11.00 hrs and from 16.00 hrs to
CONTACT DETAILS
Devaswom Manager
Wadakkunathan
Devaswom
Round North Thrissur,
Kerala, India - 680 001
Phone: 0487-2426040,
2421312
Mobile No: 9188 958
014
Email:
wadakkunathantemple2020@gmail.com
HOW TO REACH
The Vadakkunatha temple
is about 2 km from Sree Thrissur Railway Station, 29 km from Guruvayur, 51 km
from Kochi, and 128 km from Kozhikode.
The nearest Railway
Station is Thrissur.
LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE:
CLICK HERE
വ്യാസശില VYASASILA
ഖിധനിന ഹരിഃശ്രീ ഗണപതയേ നമ:
എന്ന് ഈ ശിലയിൽ എഴുതുക
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