Ettumanoor - Shiva Temple

Lord Shiva temple, Ettumanoor, Kottyam district, Kerala

• Meditation: I meditate on Lord Shiva of Ettumanoor.

• Ettumanoor: Ettumanoor has a famous temple of Lord Shiva. The place is associated with the legend of demon Khara.

• Legend of Khara: According to a legend, Khara (the asura of Ramayana) performed intense penance and propitiated Lord Nataraja of Chidambaram. The Lord granted him boons along with three Shiva Lingas. Khara held two Lingas in his hands and third in his mouth, and went southwards journeying through the sky. On the way he descended to take some rest in a place. There he put the Linga on his right hand on a sacred spot. The Linga got fixed on the ground and Khara could not remove it. At this juncture, sage Vyaghrapada appeared there. Khara entrusted the Linga to the care of the sage and proceeded further. This is the famous Shiva Linga of Vaikom. Khara installed the Linga on his left hand at Ettumanoor, 25 km away. Khara set the Linga on his mouth at Kaduthuruthy, midway between the two places.

• Another legend of Khara: According to another legend, once Khara performed intense penance and propitiated Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva appeared before him and told him to ask for a boon. Khara asked the boon that Shiva should be always with him. Once Khara took the form of a deer and started roaming around freely. Shiva kept following the deer but finally got exhausted. So he carried the deer in his hands. In Malayalam Ettiya means carried, Maan means deer and Ooru means place. So the place came to be known as Ettumanoor.

• About the Temple: The Shiva in Ettumanoor is considered to be of Aghora (Fierce) form (in contrast to the benign form at Vaikom). The Shiva Linga is two feet high and is decorated with flower garlands and ornaments made of gold and silver. The temple has a big lamp which is said to be installed in 1545 AD, and is kept burning since that time.

• Festival: An annual festival is held in the Malayalam month Kumbham (Feb - Mar) which is celebrated for ten days.

• Ettumanoor is located in the Kottyam district of Kerala.

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5. Saints: Ramakrishna - Vivekananda - Ramana
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