Ettumanoor Temple

Kerala is a lovely place with beautiful landscape, lush green vegetation, pristine water, lovely climate, majestic hill stations, scintillating beaches and divine temples.

One such temple is situated towards 12 kms north of Kottayam town at Ettumanoor. This is a Shiva temple constructed during the 16th century. This temple is an illustration of the architecture of the aboriginal Kerala’s ancient style and is one of the main attractions of numerous devotees from all over Kerala state.

The temple has a majestic conical roof structure as the main central shrine is copper plated. The Ettumanoor shrine has exotic carvings of Ramayana, Krishna Leela and Bhagvatha scenes in the interiors.

The Ettumanoor temple is gifted with delicate and superb collection of sculptures and Mural paintings portraying various scenes from the Hindu mythology. This Shiva temple extensively uses the themes of the murals such as the Upanishads and puranas as well. The temple architecture especially in this temple is a striking feature of this temple.

Adjacent to the Ettumanoor temple is the Mural Art Centre and this is preserved by the state. A ten day festival is celebrated every year in the months of February or March. This shrine lures lots of devotees as well as arts enthusiasts.

The Gopuram in a conical shape commands immense respect, curtsy and is overwhelming as well. This shrine is very special as it has 14 decorative tops. The gopuram and the valiant fortress stand affirmatively right from the time it is built.

Similarly, a painting of dancing Shiva enhances the temples charm. The flag post is gold plated and possesses an aesthetic look. The sanctums corridor is very well carved with panels of wood, while the rear edge of the sanctum belongs to Goddess Parvati.

The specialty of this temple is that though the main shrine is devoted to Lord Shiva, the temple shrine also has deities such as Ganapathy, Yakshi, Bhagavati and Dharma Sastha.

The most prestigious and honored belief of this Ettumanoor temple is that Adi Sankaracharya had written ‘Soundarya Lahari’ during his stay in this temple. There are numerous legends linked with this temple such as it is believed that Ravana built this temple, while others say the term ’maan’ means deer and Lord Shiva had created a deer and let it in this green soil.

This temple is prominent for its Thullabarams. The Ettumanoor temple is reachable from Cochin and Trivandrum Airport. Kottayam station offers excellent rail links and the bus facilities are also well connected. Besides all these, the ferry services are also superb. This temple is the opulent and largest temple in the Kerala state.