Aryankavu Sastha Temple a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

and one among the 108

Sastha Shasta ( IAST Śāstā) is a Hindu deity of Dravidian origin, usually associated with Shiva and Vishnu. In Hindu mythology, Shasta is considered to be another name of Ayyappan, described as the offspring of Shiva and Mohini. His principal ...

shrines in the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, but also borders the neighboring state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. The idol here is believed to be consecrated by sage

Parashurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Veerarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. He is believed to be one of the ''Chiranjeevis'' (Immortals), who will appear ...

. It is also one among ''Pancha Sastha'' temples in Kerala located in the

Punalur Punalur is a Municipality in Kollam district of Kerala State in India. It is the headquarter of the Punalur Taluk and Punalur Revenue Division. It's situated in the eastern part of Kollam district of Kerala, on the banks of the Kallada River a ...

tehsil of

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

district, in the eastern forest ranges.

Temple

The ''pratishta'' here is quite different from that of Achankovil, Kulthupuzha and

Sabarimala The Sabarimala Temple (; ml, ശബരിമല ക്ഷേത്രം) is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest ...

temples.

is depicted as a young boy sitting on an elephant with right leg hanging and left leg being in a folded position, along with his consort ''Shri Pushkaladevi'' on the left side and Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

on the right. As in Sabarimala, the temple too have 18 steps. The temple built in the traditional architectural styles of both Kerala and

preserves several murals of

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

deities. Another feature of the temple is that it is built 35 feet below the road level. The

Poojas Pooja Gauthami Umashankar, mononymously known as Pooja, is an Indian-Sri Lankan actress, who has primarily appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Cinema of Sri Lanka, Sinhala and Malayalam language films. Early and personal life Pooja's mother, Sandhy ...

and rituals conducted in the temple is very much similar to the Shastha Temples . It is believed that Sastha married Shri Pushkaladevi of

Sourashtra Saurashtra (Saurashtra script: , Tamil script: சௌராட்டிர மொழி, Devanagari script: सौराष्ट्र भाषा) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily by the Saurashtrians of Southern India who migrated ...

community in Aryankavu. The marriage festival is held every year in Aryankavu and the marriage rituals are according to the Sourashtra community .Even now Sourashtrans reach here in groups during the time of ‘Mandalapooja’.

Etymology

The name 'Aryankavu' is believed to be originated from the words "Aryan" which generally denotes the deity ''Sastha'' and 'Kavu' being the place where he is worshipped. The deity here is also known as ''Tiru Aryan''.

Location

The temple is located in the north western side of Kollam district in the Indian state of

. It is near to the border of neighbouring state

Tamil nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

on the Kollam - Tenkasi national highway, about from Kollam city, from

, from

Tenkasi Tenkasi is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...

and from

Shenkottai Sengottai (also known as Shencottah, Chenkotta or Shenkottai) is a town in the Tenkasi district, of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the gateway to southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Spread over an area of 2.68 km2 with a population of over 26,823, ...

. People from south can approach the temple via

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

- Thenmala - Shenkottai highway. The nearest railhead is at

Aryankavu Aryankavu is a village located in the Kollam district of the Indian state of Kerala. It lies close to the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu near Thenmala. It is also one of the famous pilgrimage sites associated with the legend of Sabarimala ...

and New Aryankavu on Kollam-Shecottai line.

Subordinate deities

The temple has separate shrines for Valiyakadutha, Karuppaswami and Karuppayiamma below the holy steps.

Festivals

The temple has two main annual festivals mainly the ''Mandalapooja'' and ''Thirukalyanam'' (10th Dhanu). The other noted festivals of the temple are Painguni Uthiram and Kumbhabhishekam.

References