Saiva · Kottayam, Kerala
Vaikom Mahadeva Temple
வைக்கம் மகாதேவர் கோயில்
Vaikkathappan (Sivan) in three aspects through the day
GeneralPitru and ancestors
The temple in short
- Deity
- Vaikkathappan (Sivan) in three aspects through the day
- Where
- Kottayam, Kerala · 9.75N 76.39E
- Usual hours
- 4 am – 12 pm, 5 pm – 8 pm — hours change with festivals and the season; check before travelling. Were these right when you went?
- Grahas
- Guru
- Visited for
- One of the three old Siva kshetrams of Kerala, and the site of the Vaikom Satyagraha. Vaikathashtami in Vrischikam is its great festival.
The sthala purana
Tradition, as it is told at the temple
The sthala purana has it that the asura Kharasura obtained three lingas from Sivan and carried them away, one in each hand and one in his mouth. Tired, he set them down to rest — and they would not be lifted again.
The three are said to be the lingas now at Vaikom, Ettumanoor and Kaduthuruthy. Seeing all three before noon on one day is an old observance in this part of Kerala, and the three temples are close enough together to make it possible.
The sage Vyaghrapada is said to have worshipped here, and the place carries his name as Vyaghrapadapuram.
What is recorded
Documented history
Vaikom is one of the oldest and largest Siva temples in Kerala and is counted among the state’s principal Siva kshetrams.
The Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924–25, the campaign for the right of avarna castes to use the roads around this temple, was fought here. It drew in Narayana Guru, Periyar and Gandhi, and it is one of the documented turning points of social reform in Kerala.
What there is to see
Description
A circular srikovil under a tiered copper roof, standing in a very large walled courtyard with a tall deepastambham in front of it.
The deity is treated as three different aspects through the day — as the teacher in the morning, as the hunter at midday and as the householder with Parvathi at night — and the offerings change with them.
Vaikom keeps a large annadanam, and the feeding hall is part of the establishment rather than an occasional arrangement.
The temple year
The days it is fullest
Vaikathashtami in Vrischikam runs for twelve days and is the great festival, ending with the elephant procession and the Arattu.
Sivaratri and the Mondays of the Malayalam months are the other days. The three-temple darshan with Ettumanoor and Kaduthuruthy is done all year, before noon.
Getting there, and what else it is called
- Also called
- Vaikkathappan, Dakshina Kashi, Vyaghrapadapuram
- Reaching it
- Vaikom is about 35 km west of Kottayam and roughly 40 km south of Ernakulam, on the road along the backwaters. Kottayam and Vaikom Road are the nearest railway stations.
Where it is
Others within reach
Nearest first, by straight-line distance
- Ettumanoor Mahadeva Temple 19.7 km · Saiva
- Chottanikkara Bhagavathy Temple 21.1 km · Sakta (Amman)
- Panachikkadu Saraswathy Temple 30.1 km · Sakta (Amman)
- Thrikkakara Vamanamoorthy Temple 32.9 km · Vaishnava
- Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Temple 41.4 km · Vaishnava
- Chakkulathukavu Sree Bhagavathy Temple 44.3 km · Sakta (Amman)
Add what you know
Been to this temple? The things that change — whether the hours on this page were right, whether the sannidhi was open, how long the queue was on a Saturday — are exactly what no printed source keeps current, and what the next person travelling here needs.
- Were the hours right when you went?
- Is anything on this page wrong or out of date?
- A photograph of the gopuram, the tank, or the notice board
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Parihaaram is traditional practice, offered for devotion and peace of mind; it is not a guaranteed cure of any condition. Temple hours change with festivals and the season, so check before travelling.