Pandavam () is a village in
Aymanam panchayath in
Kottayam District in the Indian state of
Kerala. It is located near Kudayampady on Kottayam - Olassa - Parippu route.
Etymology
The name ''Pandavam'' derived from "Pandavavanam", which literally means the forest of
Pandavas.
Legend
Legend has it that Pandavas had a sojourn there during one year of incognito. A popular belief is that
Naranath Bhranthan
Naranath Branthan (The madman of ''Naranam'') is a character in Malayalam folklore. He was considered to be a divine person, a Mukhta who pretended to be mad. His chief activity consisted of rolling a big stone up a hill and then letting it fall ...
installed a Shasta idol there. When
Thekkumkur
The Kingdom of Thekkumkur ( ml, തെക്കുംകൂർ രാജ്യം) (also transliterated as ''Thekkumkoor'' or ''Thekkumcore'') was an independent kingdom in the southern part of Kerala in India from 1103 CE until 1750 CE.P. Shung ...
raja became old, he was unable to go to
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 ...
on the '
Makarsankranti' day.
Shasta gave him a vision in his dream to acknowledge that he abodes in Pandavavanam to give darshan. Raja immediately cleared the forest and found an idol. Later, a shrine was constructed for Shasta there which is famed as Pandavam Sree Dharmasastha temple.
Shasta temple
Pandavam Shasta Temple holds Shasta (
Ayyappa) as the principal deity along with his consorts Purna and Pushkala. The tantric rights of the temple is held by "Kadiyakkol Mana". Lord
Shiva,
Malikapurathamma and
Nagar
Nagar (-nagar) can refer to:
Places Bangladesh
*Nagar, Rajshahi Division, a village
* Nagar, Barisal Division, a settlement
India
* Nagar taluka, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra State
* Nagar, Murshidabad, a village in West Bengal
* Nagar, Rajasthan, a ...
are the sub-deities. The eight days annual festival is hosted in the Malayalam month of Dhanu which commences with the ''Aarattu'' ceremony.
Travancore Devaswom Board administer the temple.
Temple Structure
The structure is adorned by several
murals
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
of various
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, sketched by Narayanapattar of Ramavarma Agrahara in
Thiruvananthapuram.
The southern temple wall has murals of
Shivathandava, Ganapathi pooja and flute playing
Krishna along with
gopis. The western wall holds the murals of Ashvarooda (horse seated) Shasta ,
Yoga Narasimha and
Subramanya
Subramaniam, Subrahmanyam, Subramanyam or Subramanian ( ta, சுப்பிரமணியம்; te, సుబ్రహ్మణ్యం) is a South Indian male given name. Due to the South Indian tradition of using patronymic surnames it ...
.
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
(deity of east) performing ''Kalasabhisheka'' is pictured in the eastern wall. It is accompanied by the painting of a raja. Murals of elephant seated Shasta and
Parvati parinaya (marriage of Parvati) are depicted in the northern wall. The
Namaskara Mandapa in the complex is made of a single stone. The
rafter and roof portions are made of
granite
Notable people
*
Guinness Pakru, Malayalam film actor.
References
{{Kottayam district
Villages in Kottayam district