Kanthaloor Mahadeva Temple, Valiyasala is one of the ancient Trimurti temples in

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 ...

. Kanthaloor Sala, a famous university, was located here centuries back.

Legend

The Chera, Chola and Pandya Kings fought against each other and died in the Kanthaloor region. Their Queens performed sati at their funeral pyres. Temples for Brahma, Sri Venkata Perumal and Sri Mahadeva rose at the sites of the pyres.

Ettuveetil Pillamar

In the tussle between Sri Anizhom Thirunal

Marthanda Varma Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") (1758–98).Subrahmany ...

and the Thampi siblings for the Throne of Venad,

Ettuveetil Pillamar The Ettuveetil Pillamar (Lords of the Eight Houses) were nobles from eight ruling Houses in erstwhile Travancore in present-day Kerala state, South India. They were associated with the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram and the Ettara ...

sided with Sri Padmanabhan Thampi and Raman Thampi. For destroying Marthanda Varma, Kudamon Pillai, one of the Pillamar, is said to have infused Smasaana Siva potency into the idol now known as Brahma. So Marthanda Varma reconsecrated Sri Venkita Perumal with a kadusarkara idol and conducted many rituals to compensate the negative charges of Smasaana Siva.

The Royal Family of Travancore

It is a historical fact that even the successors of Anizhom Thirunal Marthanda Varma never visited Valiyasala Temple for centuries. In 2000, Maharaja Sri

Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma (22 March 1922 – 16 December 2013) was the titular Maharaja of Travancore. He was the younger brother of the last ruling monarch of the Kingdom of Travancore, Maharajah Chithira Thirun ...

and his sister Maharani

Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi Maharani Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi (1916-2008) was the only sister of the last ruling Maharajah of Travancore, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma and of his successor, Sree Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma. Under the matrilineal ''Marum ...

visited the Temple.

References

Hindu temples in Thiruvananthapuram district Shiva temples in Kerala {{Kerala-hindu-temple-stub