Sukapuram (formerly Chokiram) is a village in Ponnani taluk, Malappuram district 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 ...

. It is located near

Edappal Edappal is a town which lies near to the town of Ponnani in Ponnani taluk, Malappuram district, Kerala, India. Edappal is at a junction of two roads Thrissur-Kozhikode and Palakkad-Ponnani state highways located from Malappuram. Edappal lies ...

, on the plains south of the

Bharathappuzha Bharathappuzha ("River of Bhārata"), also known as the Nila or Ponnani River, is a river in India in the state of Kerala. With a length of 209 km, it is the second longest river that flows through Kerala after the Periyar. It flows throu ...

. The village is one of the earliest Brahmin settlements ("Sukapuram grama") in Kerala. Sukapuram is famous for its Dakshinamurthy (Siva) Temple. It is believed to have been established by the great rishi Shuka. Siva as

Dakshinamurthy Dakshinamurthy () is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge. This aspect of Shiva, as the original guru, is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge. Thi ...

is the principal deity of the temple (with goddess Parvathy and god

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 ...

). The grade-B temple is administrated by an Executive Officer under Malabar Devaswom Board (Malappuram Division). Historical records in the temple From ''Index to Cera Inscriptions'', M. G. S. Narayanan (1996) * C17 (10th century CE) - eastern side of courtyard in temple - single stone slab writing (22 lines, incomplete) on one side (Vattezhuthu with Grantha, Old Malayalam) * C18 (10th century CE) - base of the second pillar of Vathilmadam in temple - single block of granite with writing (19 lines, damaged) on four sides (Vattezhuthu with Grantha, Old Malayalam) * C19 (10th century CE) - base of the first pillar of Vathilamdam in temple - single block of granite with writing (15 lines) on four sides (Vattezhuthu with Grantha, Old Malayalam) * C20 (close of the 9th century or the beginning of the 10th century CE) - stone built into the pavement of the courtyard in temple - single stone slab with writing (17 lines, incomplete) on side (Vattezhuthu with Grantha, Old Malayalam) Renovations and restorations An agreement was signed between Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and Devaswom Board for setting transit camp complexes (edathavaloms) for Sabarimala pilgrims in several Kerala temples, including Sukapuram, in 2018. The temple is expected to receive Rs. 10 crore from KIIFB to set up edathavaloms in one and a half year. Travancore Devaswom Board is expected to manage the KIIFB funded work. There were also calls from the temple officials to spend some amount of the funding to restore the medieval carvings in the srikovil of the temple. The temple is expected to receive an additional 8 crores for renovation and restoration. This include funding from Archaeology Department and Government of Kerala (Tourism Circuit). The festival in the month of January with caparisoned elephants and percussion is famous in the region.

Transportation

Sukapuram village connects to other parts of

through

. State Highway 69 passes through

. * Nearest airport -

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second l ...

. * Nearest major railway station-

Kuttippuram Kuttippuram is a town and a block headquarters, which is situated in the Tirur Taluk, Malappuram district of Kerala state, India. The town is located 34 kilometres south-west of Malappuram. The Bharathappuzha river flows through Kuttippuram. A ...

References

External links

* Official website
Dakshinamurthy (Siva) Temple
Villages in Malappuram district Kuttippuram area {{Malappuram-geo-stub