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The Sasthamangalam Mahadevar Temple is an ancient
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 ...
temple in the
Sasthamangalam Sasthamangalam () is a ward in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and ...
ward of
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 ...
Municipal Corporation,
Kerala State 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 Cana ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It is located on top of a hill away from the city centre to promote the spiritual tranquility of the shrine. The temple is more than 700 years old according to the available records, and was regularly visited by the Kings of Travancore. It is administered by the
Travancore Devaswom Board Travancore Devaswom Board is statutory and autonomous body managing around 1200 temples in southern part of India. The regular operations of one of the major temples of India, Sabarimala temple, works under its guidance. History and Administrati ...
.


Foundation legend

The foundation legend is that when the site of the temple was still grassland, a woman cutting grass sharpened her knife on a rock lying on the ground, and the rock bled. On further investigation it was confirmed that the piece of stone was a
shiva lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...
and it was consecrated. The temple was constructed round the spot in due course.


Deities and sub-deities

In this temple the main deity is 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 ...
as Uma Maheshwara, and the sub-deities are
Ganapathi 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 de ...
,
Murugan Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...
and Dharma Sastha (Ayyappan). Outside the temple compound on the banks of
Killi River Killi river, also called Killiyar, the main tributary of Karamana River, originates at Theerthankara close to Panavur in Nedumangad taluk of Thiruvananthapuram district. The river enters Thiruvananthapuram city at Vazhayila and flows through M ...
,
murthi In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' ( sa, मूर्ति, mūrti, ) is a devotional image such as a statue, or "idol" (a common and non-pejorative term in Indian English), of a deity or saint. In Hindu temples, it is a symbolic icon. T ...
s of
Bhadrakali Bhadrakali (IAST: Bhadrakālī; ), also known as Mahakali and Kali, is a Hindu goddess. According to Shaktism, she is one of the fierce forms of the Supreme Goddess Shakti, or Adi Parashakti, mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. In Vaishnavism, ...
and Veerabhadran, Nagarajah and Nagayakshi are consecrated.


Main Festivals

The main annual temple festival here lasts for ten days, commencing on the
Thiruvathira Thiruvathira or Thiruvathirai or Arudhra Darisanam is a Hindu festival celebrated in the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Thiruvathirai (Arudhra) in Tamil means "sacred big wave". In Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu, the Sri Natarajar temple ...
Star Day with the hoisting of a flag on the golden flagstaff in the
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
month of Dhanu and ending with the
Aarattu Ārāttu () is an annual ritual performed during Hindu temple festivals in Kerala, India, in which a priest bathe the idol of a deity by dipping it in a river or a temple tank. It is mainly carried out at the end of a temple festival. ''Ār ...
ceremony on the tenth day (in December–January according to the western calendar). The ceremonies of Pradosham,
Shivrathri Maha Shivaratri ( IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu c ...
,
Makara Vilakku Makaravilakku is an annual festival held on Makara Sankranti in 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 Mala ...
and so on are all auspicious at this temple.


Usual offerings

Offerings are made by devotees in the form of anointing the deity with water, rosewater, milk, tender coconut water, ghee and so on; presenting garlands made up of sacred leaves of the
bael Bael may refer to: *''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as the Bael tree *Bael (demon) * Bael (wrestler) See also * Baal (disambiguation) * Bail (disambiguation) Bail is the conditional release of an arrested person prior to their trial, or the mo ...
tree (''vilwa'' leaves in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, ''koovalam'' in
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
); Ganapathi Homam, Mrityunjaya Homam (fire rituals); Archana; Muzhukappu (adorning the deities with
sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...
paste); ''payasam'' (sweet porridge) and so on. ''Annadanam'' (feast) is offered on festival days.


Beliefs and customs

In most of the Shiva temples such as Sreekanteswaram Mahadeva Temple, Thiruvananthapuram, going round the sanctum (''Sree kovil'') is not allowed: the custom is to finish three quarters of the ''pradakshinam'' (circumambulation) and then to return and start from the beginning. (This is because crossing the passage of the holy water '' somasootham'' is not allowed). In this temple, however, as a practice followed from the early days and found by astrological consultation (''deva prasnam'') not to be wrong, the full ''pradakshinam'' is allowed. Even though there is no murthi or shrine for Devi Parvathi, the consort of Lord Shiva, the belief is that the presence of Devi Parvathi is also there, as stated in an ancient poem which is recited in this temple.


See also

* Sreekanteswaram Mahadeva Temple, Thiruvananthapuram *
Vaikom Temple The Sree Vaikom Mahadeva Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in Vaikom, Kerala, India. The temple, along with the Ettumanoor Shiva Temple and the Kaduthuruthy Shiva Temple is considered a powerful place of Shiva. The belief i ...
* Peroor Sree Krishna Swamy Temple * Anandavalleeswaram Temple,Kollam *
Thycaud Dharma Sastha Temple, Thiruvananthapuram Sree Dharma Sastha Temple is situated at Thycaud in Thiruvananthapuram City near to Govt. Model School and Govt. Arts College, Kerala, India. This ancient Hindu temple is dedicated to Lord Dharma Sastha (Lord Ayyappa Swamy). The distance from ...


References

{{Reflist Hindu temples in Thiruvananthapuram district Shiva temples in Kerala 108 Shiva Temples