In the heart of Thrissur city, within a land of 9 acres, there stands one of the most ancient temples in Kerala, Vadakkumnathan temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. This 1000 years old temple is believed to be constructed by Lord Parasuram. The temple is quite rich in Kerala culture and heritage with its Kerala style architecture and patterns. The whole temple is built on woods and stones surrounded by stone walls. Temple is presiding over the most eco-friendly environment filled with trees.
Temple has an exquisite collection of 400 years old mural paintings of different scenes from the Indian epic, Mahabharata. The stone walls have varied carvings of Lord Shiva in different dance posters. The Nataraja mural painting near the main gate wall is one of the major highlights of the temple. The temple with all the fascinating paintings is declared as a National Monument of India under the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act.
There are three shrines within the temple, Vadakkumnathan shrine is the central one where the idol is covered with ghee for the past centuries and it is believed that never once the ghee melted out of the idol. The other two shrines are for Mahavishnu and Shankaranarayan.
Vadakkumnathan temple has another astonishing peculiarity that is has a temple theatre, Koothambalam, where the traditional performances of
Nangyar Koothu takes place. The temple theatre is built in typical Kerala architecture. Near the temple complex, there are Thiruvambadi Krishna temple and Paramekkavu Devi temple, usually known as the sister temples of Vadakumnathan temple. It is believed that the ancient scholar Adi Sankaracharya was born to their parents in Kalady, after prayers and worship to the deity of this temple.
The major festival would be the much renowned “Thrissur Pooram”, referred to as “the mother of all festivals” in Kerala, that usually takes place around April or May. Lakhs of devotees line up at the temple courtyard to see this enormous festival procession with caparisoned elephants, chenda melam, amazing fireworks etc. The much-awaited Kudamattam or the exchange of decorated umbrellas are one of the major highlights of Thrissur Pooram. Aanayoottu is yet another celebration of the temple where elephants are standing amidst the fanfare and are fed by the devotees for the blessings of the lord. Only Hindus are allowed to enter inside the temple, others can stand outside and watch the wall paintings and murals. A trip to Thrissur must always include Vadakkumnathan temple outpouring spirituality and divinity in its entirety upon ardent devotees.
Contact Details
Thrissur Vadakkumnathan Temple
Swaraj Round N, Kuruppam,
Thekkinkadu Maidan, Thrissur,
Kerala 680001
