Kanjirangatt Vaidya Natha Temple

Idol has been consecrated by Sun God

Kanjiragatt Vaidya Natha Temple is located near Taliparamba in Kannur District of Kerala. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and here the lord is being worshipped as Vaidya Natha, the god that cures all diseases. The legend of this temple goes back to the period of Parasurama.

Lord Vishnu has taken the incarnation of Parasurama to destroy the Kshatriyas or the rulers who were behaving rudely. After finishing his duty, he was undergoing penance in a thick forest. One demon named Karaskaran was living in that forest. Karaskaran is the son of demon Bhasmasura who got a boon from Lord Shiva that everybody will ruin to ashes if he put his hands on them. After getting the boon, the demon tried to test it with Lord Shiva himself. If the demon puts his hands on Shiva’s head, Shiva will remain as ashes. Shiva started running to save his life. At that time Lord Vishnu once again took the Mohini incarnation and appeared in front of the demon in disguise of a beautiful woman.

The demon fell for her and asked to marry him. She in turn told him that she will marry only that man who can defeat her in dancing. The demon was ready for a competition. She insisted that if the demon is an expert in dance, he should repeat the steps she shows and he agreed. In between the competition, she showed a special step where she kept both her hands on her head. The demon repeated the same step and as soon as he kept both his hands on his own head, he remained to ashes as per the boon given by Lord Shiva.

Karaskaran, son of Bhasmusara was also equally cruel as his father. His most powerful weapon was loud laughter. People used to scare with that. When Parasurama was undergoing penance, demon Karaskaran came there with loud laughter. It disturbed Parasurama. Angry with the rude behavior of the demon, Parasurama beat him with his ax and that was enough for him to silence the demon. Happy with this act, gods showered flowers on Parasurama from heaven.

After finishing this act, Parasurama started moving to another place. On the way, his leg touched a stone and he realized it as a Shiva Linga. He took seven rounds around the Linga and started performing rituals as per the custom. Then the sage Narada came there and told the story of that Linga.

While the milky ocean has been churned to extract Amruth, the medicine to keep evergreen youth, a poison called Kalakoodam too came out of it. If it falls on the earth, the entire earth will destroy. To save the earth, Lord Shiva consumed that poison wholly. Then he created a Linga for him and both he and his wife Goddess Parvathy started performing rituals to it. Hence, Lord Shiva could save himself from the evil effects of the poison. Once recovered, Shiva and Parvathy kept that Linga at Mount Kailash and used to offer prayers daily.

Meanwhile, God Sun got ill due to many poisonous gases. At that time, Garuda came there and told Sun God about this Linga. Garuda suggested that he should worship that Linga and will be cured. As per Garuda’s advice, Sun God approached Lord Shiva and requested to hand over that Linga. Shiva gave it with pleasure and advised him to consecrate the same at a serene place where there are no cremation grounds and start worship. Sun God finalized this place after a wide search and consecrated the Linga and start worshipping it. Soon he got cured.

When Sage Narada Finished the story, Parasurama bowed in front of the Linga with great respect and constructed the temple there. That is the present Kanjirangattu Vaidya Natha Temple. Devotees are believing that the divine power of Linga, which saved Lord Shiva and cured Sun God is still there and will cure all types of diseases.