Ernakulathappan Temple- 1 of the 7 Royal Temples of Shiva!

Om Namah Shivay!!

Ernakulam Temple, also known as the Ernakulathappan Temple is one of the seven royal temples of Lord Shiva that is located in the heart of Ernakulam in the downtown of the Kochi city. As per the locals’ belief, this temple is dedicated to the Hindu deity, “Lord Shiva” where he is said to be the protector of the place and hence the temple was named Ernakulathappan- “The Lord of Ernakulam”. With Lord Shiva as the prime deity, the temple was constructed in the conventional Keralaite style roofed with copper tiles and the Devaswom facing the west direction which is not very usual. The sanctum complex here is circular with finely sculptured walls.

Well, this was what about the temple but its legendary roots are deeply associated with the Hindu epic tale- Mahabharatha where Arjuna the third Pandava made severe penance here to conciliate Lord Shiva. Pleased with Arjuna’s penance, Lord Shiva along with his consort; Parvathi set out from their abode Kailash to where the Pandava was. Lord Shiva disguises himself as Kiratha, a tribal hunter and appears before Arjuna. He later sees that a wild boar was charging the Pandava and shoots an arrow. Arjuna who is known greatly for his archery also shoots the boar with his arrow. The boar that was a demon named Mookasura was disguised whose reality was known after his death. However, there was a continual dispute as to who was the killer and on confirming Kiratha to be the killer, Arjuna gets furious and instills a Lingam made of mud and offers flowers and, to his surprise he sees the flowers on the head of Kiratha.

Understanding that Kiratha is none other than Lord Shiva becomes pleased and on seeing Arjuna’s devotion; Lord Shiva grants him a Pashupatha arrow. After all these, Arjuna leaves and years later the place becomes uninhabited and the lingam installed by Arjuna is long forgotten. Centuries later, a boy named Devala who was cursed by a sage gets the body of a snake crawls to the same forests, discovers the mud-built lingam and offers his penance from redeeming from the curse. Finally, Lord Shiva and Parvati appeared in their original form and asked him to take a dip in the nearby pond. In doing so, his curse was redeemed and a new idol appeared just near to the original Lingam that was immovable. Later on, a temple here dedicating to the Lord was constructed here by the public. To visit this grandeur, make an online bus ticket booking at ticketgoose.com.