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Thrissur
district
in
Kerala
is
known
for
its
rich
culture
and
heritage.
Being
the
place
that
hosts
Thrissur
Pooram,
the
festival
of
festivals,
Thrissur
also
has
many
other
reasons
to
be
proud
of.
Several
unique
attractions
like
Vadakkunnathan
Temple,
Punnathur
Kotta
(Palace
of
elephants)
and
Kalamandalam
make
the
district
one
of
the
culturally
strong
places
in
Kerala.
Vadakkunnathan
Temple,
or Vadakkumnathan
Temple,
in
Thrissur
is
one
of
the
most
popular
temples
in
Kerala.
It
is
believed
to
be
the
first
Shiva
temple
built
by
Lord
Parasurama
who
is
the
sixth
incarnation
of
Lord
Vishnu.
This
temple
is
however
one
of
the
UNESCO
recognised
heritage
sites.
The
temple
is
also
known
as
Thenkailasam
or
Vrishabhachalam.
The
temple
is
built
in
typical
Kerala
style
architecture,
located
on
a
hillock
in
the
heart
of Thrissur city.
Standing
tall
in
the
centre
of
9
acres
of
land,
the
temple
doesn't
fail
to
grab
attention
of
the
passers-by.
There
are
4
gateways
called
gopurams
to
the
temple
facing
East,
West,
North
and
South
respectively.Vadakkumnathan
Temple
is
an
ancient
Hindu
temple
dedicated
to
Shiva
at
city
of
Thrissur,
of
Kerala
state
in
India.
This
temple
is
a
classical
example
of
the
architectural
style
of
Kerala
and
has
one
monumental
tower
on
each
of
the
four
sides
in
addition
to
a
kuttambalam.In
the
year
2012
the Archaeological
Survey
of
India (ASI)
has
recommended
14
sites,
including
Vadakkumnathan
Temple
and
palaces,
from Kerala to
include
in
the
list
of UNESCO World
Heritage
Sites.The
temple
is
also
the
first
one
among
the
108
Shiva
Temples
in
ancient
Kerala,
established
by
Parasurama.Legends
regarding
the
origins
of
the
Vadakkumnathan
Temple
are
briefly
narrated
in
the Brahmanda
Purana and
these
legends
are
referenced
in
some
other
works
as
well. Though
these
accounts
differ
with
respect
to
certain
details,
they
are
all
in
agreement
regarding
the
central
theme
that
the
temple
was
founded
by Parashurama.
According
to
lore,
Parashurama
exterminated Kshatriyas in
twenty-one
cycles.
In
order
to
cleanse
himself
of
the
negative
karma
of
these
deeds
he
performed
a yajna at
the
end
of
which
he
gave
away
all
the
land
to Brahmins as dakshina.
He
wanted
to
retire
to
a
new
land
to
perform
meditative
penance
(tapasya)
and
thus
requested
the
Lord
of
the
oceans Varuna to
bring
forth
a
new
piece
of
land
from
the
waters.According
to
another
version,
some
sages
approached
him
at
the
end
of
the
yajna
and
requested
him
to
give
them
some
secluded
land.
Parashurama
then
requested
Varuna
on
their
behalf.
Varuna
gave
him
a winnow
(surpa) and
asked
him
to
hurl
it
into
the
sea;
as
he
did
so,
a
large
area
of
land
was
brought
from
the
sea;
this
region
of
land
that
arose
from
the
sea
become Kerala.
It
was
then
known
by
the
name
"Surparaka",
from
the
word,
"Surpa"
meaning
winnow.
According
to
some
other
accounts,
Varuna
asked
Parashurama
to
hurl
his
axe
into
the
sea.
Parashurama
now
wanted
to
consecrate
this
new
land.
So
he
went
to Mount
Kailasa to
his guru,
Lord Shiva and
requested
him
to
take
abode
in
Kerala
and
thereby
bless
the
region.
Shri
Shiva
accompanied
by
his
wife Parvati,
his
sons Ganesha and Subrahmanya and
his
parashadas
went
along
with
Parashurama,
to
oblige
his
disciple.
Shiva
stopped
at
a
spot,
which
is
now Thrissur,
for
his
seat.
Later
he
and
his
party
disappeared
and Parashurama saw
a
bright
and
radiant Shiva
lingam (non-anthropomorphic
icon
of
Shiva)
at
the
foot
of
a
huge banyan
tree.
This
place
where
Shiva
manifested
his
presence
as
a
lingam
is
known
in Sanskrit as
the Sri
Moola
Sthana.
Entrance
into
the
inner
temple
is
through
a
passage
through
the
corridorMaha
Shivaratri is
the
main
festival
which
is
celebrated
in
the
temple.Cultural
and
musical
programmes
are
held
in
the
temple
premises.
Around
one
lakh
temple
lamps
(hundred
thousand)are
lighted
in
the
festival.
The
idol
of
Vadakkumnatha
is
not
taken
out
for
procession.
On
this
day,
there
will
he
continuous abhishekam with ghee and
tender coconut.
The
temple
is
not
closed
in
the
night,
and
there
will
be
special
poojas
with
abhishekam
on
the
day.
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