Mahadeva Temple
Location : Parasala, Trivandrum
About The Temple :
Mahadeva Temple Parasala is one of the most important temples of south Kerala. It is located at about 30 km south of Trivandrum at the Trivandrum Kanyakumari National Highway. It is believed that this temple was rebuilt in the present form by Mallan Chempakaraman Pillay in (1773 A D) who was a Dalava (minister) of the king at that time. Among statues found at the courtyard one place remains empty and it is believed to be occupied by the statue of that great man who belonged to Parasala. A king removed the statue due to envy as the statue in sitting posture that did not stand up seeing the king! However the enchanting carvings found in this temple make it a worthy place to visit.
Shree-kovil is made of sandstone in an unusual design; main idol is that of Shiva-linga that is directed west-ward. This temple is a full-fledged one with all paraphernalia of a traditional place of worship like namaskara-mandapam (a raised platform for offering prayers), balikkal-pura (a shed that houses stone for conducting holy-sacrifices), anapandal (elephant-shed), nalambalam (the buildings that surround the main temple), Thidappally (a house to keep decorative materials), nadappandal (a roofed enclosure for pedestrians) etc.
Barring Shree Padmanabha Swamy Temple of Trivandrum there is no other temple in Kerala that is so rich in sandstone architecture. A unique feature of this temple is the ‘ottakkal-mandapam’ (a platform made out of single sandstone that is 24 sq ft in area). This temple had four temple-ponds (at present that on the western side got filled).
The idol of Shree-Parvathi is placed face to face to the Shree-kovil in specially built encasement.
There is one idol of Unni-Ganapathi on the western side of the ottakkal-mandapam (it is believed that this idol is growing in size as time passes!). There is one platform as a seat for the idol of Maha-Vishnu below the gooseberry tree within the compound at the northern side. On the eastern side below a banyan tree there are idols of holy snakes resting on the platform.
There are five pooja (holy rituals) held on every day along with the ritual of nagar-oottu or serving meals for the holy snakes. Temple festivals begin on the thiruvathira star of Meda month as per the Malayalam calendar and last for the next ten days.
The rituals of ‘Pallivetta’ (symbolic hunting procession of the deity) held at the pond at the western side of the temple and ‘Arattu’ (symbolic bathing of the deity) held in the temple pond at the eastern side. Shiva-ratri also celebrated with gaiety; another ritual is the procession of the deity held on Nandhi (the holy bullock).
The architecture filled front-yard of Parasala Shiva Temple really enchanting, with carved pillars, ‘Vyali’ (Indian version of dragon), Vyakhra-pada-muni, Arjuna-tapas (Arjuna in praying posture), Hanuman, Shree-Raman, Kaliya-mardhanam (lord Krishna executing a serpent by name Kaliya), Devi (Goddess), Shree Krishnan, etc are some of the most notable ones among them.
It is said that this temple was faced towards east as most of the other temples; once a low caste girl by name ‘Neeli’ came an prayed from western side of the temple (as she was not eligible to visit temple through main gate). Hearing her prayers the idol turned towards her with god’s back to the temple door! The shreekovil had to be constructed in accordance with the posture of the idol.
This temple is widely visited by devotees from various places as well as tourists to get a glimpse of the magnificent carvings.
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