Ettumanoor Mahadevar Temple

Ettumanoor Mahadeva temple is an ancient Shiva temple in Kottayam, Kerala, India. The temple is one of the major Shiva temples in Kerala, along with Vaikom Temple, Kaduthruthy Mahadeva Temple, Chengannur Mahadeva Temple, Vazhappally Maha Siva Temple, Ernakulam Shiva Temple, Vadakkunathan temple, and Sreekanteswaram Mahadeva Temple, Thiruvananthapuram.

The place's name had its mythological origin from the word 'man oor' in Malayalam, which means the place of deer, as 'maan' means deer and 'oor' means place. Another version is that the name originated from the 'Ettu Mana Ooru', that is, 'The Land of Eight Namboothiri Manas' or 'Ashta Grihas'. These Eight Manas (Brahmin families) are the original Ooralans of the great Ettumanoor Mahadeva Temple. It is also believed that at this place (ooru) Lord Siva appeared in eight (Ettu) different forms (maanam) and hence the name Ettumanoor. Temple tradition is that the Pandavas and the sage Vyasa had worshipped at this temple.