Legend of Vaikom Mahdadeva Temple

Probably, Vaikom Mahadeva Temple may be the only temple devoted to Lord Shiva which has been equally revered by both Shaivaites and Vaishnavaite. It is one of the oldest temples in Kerala where the rituals have never been stopped since its inception.

Vaikom is a temple town located in the Kottayam District of Kerala and about 32 Km away from Ernakulam on the way to Sabarimala. The temple is one of the most popular and one of the largest temples too in Kerala. The legend behind the temple is mentioned in the ancient text Bhargava Purana and the Sanalkumar Samhita.

Kharasura (The Demon with the name Khara) was an ardent the devotee of Lord Shiva and he went to Chidambara to worship Lord Shiva after attaining Shaiva Vidya Upadesh from Saint Malyavan. He underwent a severe penance there and pleased with his devotion and dedication, Lord Shiva appeared in front of him.

The Lord gave all the boons asked by Kharasura and also gave three Shiva Lingas. Lord asked him to consecrate the lingas at suitable places and start worshiping them. He promised that he will appear in front of anybody who worship these lingas and eradicate the agony and troubles.  Happy with the boon, Kharasura started his journey with three llingas.

He held one linga in his left hand the other one in the right hand. The third one he kept on his neck. On the way, he felt tired and sat in a calm and serene place to take rest. After some time, he decided to start his journey. When he tried to pick up the idols, he realized to his utter shock that they have got fixed to the ground.

Saint Vyaghrapada was following him invisibly throughout the journey and at this juncture, he appeared in front of Kharasura and asked him to leave the lingas there and start worshipping there. The linga which he was carrying in his right hand is believed to be the one at Vaikom Temple. The one in the left hand is the idol at Ettumanur Temple and the one he was carrying on his neck is the one at Kaduthuruthi Temple.

The fact that the distances from Vaikom to Kaduthuruthi and Kaduthuruthi to Ettumanur is almost equal, gives this legend a high level of credibility. Besides, the belief is that praying at all these three temples in a single day is more auspicious.

Later Kharasura attained salvation and Vyaghrapada Maharshi remained there worshipping the idol installed with the right hand of Kharasura. On an Ashtami day of Malayalam Month Vrischikam, Lord Shiva along with his consort Parvathy appeared in front of the saint and blessed him. Lord told him that this place will soon be called Vyagrapadapuram and will attract a lot of pilgrims.

Years have passed and the Saint too got salvation. Once, Parasurama, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu was moving by the sky, he experienced the presence of divine rays at a particular place on the earth. He came down and searched for the source of the rays and found it to be a Shiva Linga immersed in water.

He picks up the Linga and did rituals chanting many holy hymns. Pleased with this act, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi appeared in front of him and asked him to construct a temple and consecrate the linga there. Lord told him that as the consecration was done by Parasurama, the Linga will have both the energies or Chaitanyas of Lord Shiva and Vishnu.

Parasurama constructed the temple and installed the linga. Then he called a Brahmin from a nearby village and handed over the temple to him. He instructed him on how to perform rituals and also taught him many holy hymns for performing rituals there. It is the same system that is being followed even today.

Closed Door at Vaikom Shiva Temple

There is a door in the western courtyard of the temple which always remains closed. Here is the legend behind that. Parasurama awarded the rights on the temple to one hundred and eight families. As time passed they got divided into two groups supporting and opposing the ruler. The quarrel between these two groups intensified day by day.

One day, one group was performing “Nivedyam” (Offering food to the deity) at the western side of Namaskara Mandapa when a prominent person belongs to the other group came there. He kept his apron (Melmundu) on the western door and went inside. He spat the beetle nut he was chewing into the offerings (Prasadam) prepared for the god and thus stopping the ritual he came out. When he took out the apron from the door, a highly poisonous snake appeared from beneath the apron and bit him.

He felled out of the door as if somebody has pushed him and died immediately. At the same time, the door closed automatically and a voice came from within the sanctum Sanctorum saying not to open that door anymore. Till then the door has not been opened and even now it is closed.