Kuttumuck Siva Temple, the abode of Lord Kuttumuck Sree Mahadevan, is located about 5 km northeast of

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

. According to the legends, the

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

worshipped here is more than 300 years old. But there are no historical records to establish it. The name 'Kuttumuck' is believed to have evolved from Kutti Muck.

History

The idol worshipped here is known as "Kiratha Moorthi", an especially fierce and potent incarnation of

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 ...

. It was in this form that the lord tested

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

's devotion, by appearing as a hunter and challenging him to a duel. Impressed by

's dedication,

gave him the celestial weapon " Pasupathastra". According to a popular lore, once the army of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

, led by

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He int ...

, attacked the Kuttumucku temple. When they were about to breach the premises, a swarm of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

s appeared out of nowhere and attacked them, forcing them to retreat. The temple was thus left unharmed.

Upadevas

Ganapathy

In most of the temples in Kerala,

Ganapathy Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...

is a regular fixture as an upadeva of the main installation. In Kuttumuck Temple, the Ganapathy shrine is situated within the

Nalambalam Nalambalam is a set of four Hindu temples in Kerala. In Malayalam, ''Nalu'' means "four" and ''Ambalam'' means "temple". These are the temples for the Rama and his brothers of Ramayana. There are around five sets of Nalambalams in Kerala, the ...

or the inner edifice, at the south-western corner. Initially, the pathway to this shrine was constricted and it was impossible for the devotees to walk as a group and cluster around the shrine. However, this has been rectified during a recent renovation and sufficient area has been provided in front of the shrine.

Swami Ayyappan

On the southern side of the temple, outside the

and adjacent to the pradikshinavazhy is the shrine of

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 fu ...

. This is the first shrine one would come across outside the Nalambalam. There is a big granite stone in front of the shrine, placed in an inclined position, used in the ritual of breaking

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

s, considered very dear to Sastha. A small deepasthambam is there in front of the shrine. During the mandala season, lot of devotees take darshan at this shrine. In front of the shrine arrangements are made for "malayidal" and "kettunira" for

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 ...

pilgrimage during

Mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

season.

Lord Mahavishnu

Though this is outside the nalambalam, it is not considered as updevatha. In fact, it is considered equal in importance with Lord Shiva shrine. Because of that reason you can see additional compound wall and ''balikkallu'' exclusively for

Mahavishnu Mahavishnu (Sanskrit: महाविष्णु) is an aspect of Vishnu, the principal deity in Vaishnavism. In his capacity as Mahavishnu, the deity is known as the Supreme Purusha, the absolute protector and sustainer of the universe, th ...

. This is situated at the southern side facing west.

Festivals

Utsavam Pallivetta

Kuttumuck, the utsavam lasts for ten days. ''Kodiyettam'', (beginning day of Utsavam) happens such that the ''Aarattu'' happens on ''Thiruvathira'' (lunar) star in the Malayalm month '' Kumbam'' (February–March), it ends after the Aarattu on the 10th day. Religiously, it is the restoration of divine Chaithanya. Dravyakalasam / Brahmakalasam is preceded by the Utsavam. It is aimed at the purification and energisation of the powers of the deity. It is the last of the long series of rituals of

kalasam A kalasam is a finial typically placed atop the towers of Hindu temples. These kalasams, in the form of an inverted pot with a point facing the sky, are prominent elements of temple architecture. Periodic renewal of the temple is called ''samprok ...

and at the end, the flag will be hoisted (

Kodiyettam ''Kodiyettam ''() is a 1978 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The film stars Bharat Gopy in the lead role. Notable smaller roles were played by K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Kuttyedathi Vilasini, Azeez and Ad ...

) heralding the Utsavam. File:Kuttumuck sri mahadeva temple.jpg, Kuttumuck sri mahadeva temple File:Kuttumuck_pooram.jpg, Kuttumuck pooram File:Kuttumuck sri mahadeva temple siveli.jpg, Kuttumuck sri mahadeva temple siveli

References

External links

Kuttumuck Siva Temple information
{{Hindu temples in Kerala Shiva temples in Kerala Hindu temples in Thrissur district