Legend of Aluva Shiva Temple and the rituals for the dead

Have you ever heard about a temple that will be beneath the water for over eight months and still thousands of people rush to worship there in the remaining four months? Yes there is a temple which is dedicated to Lord Shiva in Aluva, near Kochi city in Kerala. Actually, there are no perfect structures such as Gopuram, Garbhagriham, etc in this temple. There is one Shivalinga which is believed to be made with sand. The same thing will remain immersed in the waters of River Periyar for over eight months. With the end of the winter season in Kerala, the water of River Periyar starts thinning and a sand bed will appear in the middle of the river. In the center of this sand bed, there will be this Shivalinga. A temporary temple will be constructed here every year during these four months.

This temple is considered equal to those famous Shiva Temples in Banaras, Sreesailam, etc. Hence thousands of people gather here during the Shivarathri festival. The sand bed witnesses Pithrutharpana, the rituals for the dead also in the morning after Shivarathri. People gather here to do pithrutharpana during the new moon day of Malayalam month Karkkidakam too. When the legend behind the temple is connected to Vilwamangalam Swamiyar, the holy person who is behind the legends of most of the temples of Kerala, the importance of this sand bed as the place to offer rituals for the dead goes back to Threthayuga.

Pithrutharppanam

During Threthayuga, Lord Sri Ram came to this place on his journey to Sri Lanka, in search of Seeta. Here he experienced the divine presence of Lord Shiva and hence performed the last rituals of Jadayu, who got killed amidst the efforts to free Seetha from the clutches of demon Ravana. It is believed that by performing rituals at this place, the souls of the dead will get eternal peace. Hence every year thousands of devotees gather here to perform such rituals on the designated dates.

As mentioned earlier, the legend behind the temple is associated with the Holy Saint, Vilwamangalam Swamiyar. Once a naughty boy disturbed him while he was having a bath and angry with the behavior of the boy he kicked him. Suddenly the boy took the shape of Lord Krishna and told the saint that he will not be with him anymore. Feeling guilty of kicking the Lord, Saint prayed for pardon. Lord asked him to come to the forests of Anantha (Ananthan Kadu).

Swamiyar started his journey to Ananthan Kadu and on the way, he reached the banks of River Periyar. As it was evening, he decided to have a bath in the river. However, he was not able to enter the river as he saw the entire bank is covered with the hairs of Lord Shiva. After a long time, he got an idea. He lied down on the sand and rolled down to the river. He did it because it is not good to touch the hairs of the Lord with feet. After taking bath, he decided to know the reason behind the testing of Lord Shiva. He underwent a penance and at the end of it, Lord Shiva appeared in front of him.

With the great joy of having got the sight of Lord Shiva, the saint made a Shivalinga with the sand there and started worshipping it. He was not willing to leave the place even after getting the sight of the Lord. He remained there worshipping the linga he made of sand. A few days have passed. One day, three prominent people in the village came there and saw the Saint. They recognized him and asked about his intention to be there. Saint narrated the entire incidents and asked them to continue worshipping the idol. He suggested the methods to worship and told them that by doing so the entire village will get the benefit.

Later a temple has been constructed there but swiped away during a flood in the river. Still, the Shiva Linga remained unaffected. This fact intensified the devotion of the locals and slowly the news spread across the state. Even now, the Shivalinga which is made of sand will not get damaged even after remaining immersed in the water for eight months.