Rajarajeshwara Temple
The
Rajarajeswara temple is a beautiful
Shiva temple (Rajarajeswara is one of the names of
Shiva) and is located at
Taliparamba in
Kannur district of
Kerala,
south India.
The temple is regarded as one of the 108 ancient Shiva temples of Kerala. It has a prominent place amongst the numerous Shiva temples in south India. If any problem is encountered in temples of South India, the final solution is sought in this Temple through a
prasna, a traditional method of astrological decision making. The
prasna is conducted on a
peedha (a raised platform) situated outside the temple.
The quadrangular sanctum has a two tiered pyramidal roof. In front of the
sanctum is the
namaskara mandapam. The temple has no
kodi maram (flagstaff) as opposed to other temples in Kerala.
The place is considered as most sacred for performing
Koodiyattam and
Chakyar Koothu. Whenever a new Koodiyattam is being directed, first it is usually performed at this temple. However only the "Mani (Māni)" family of
Chakyars solely posses the right of performing Koodiyattam here. Legendary Koodiyattam & Chakyar koothu maestro, Nātyāchārya Vidūshakaratnam
Padma Shri Māni Mādhava Chākyār had performed here for many decades. The title "Vidūshakaratnam" was awarded to him from this temple.
One of the greatest appreciation or award that an artist/scholar can get, is the "Veerashringhala" (Vīrasringhala)- Golden Bracelet, from the temple, given by the unanimous approval of the scholar body of the temple. Guru
Mani Madhava Chakyar is the youngest and last person to get the Vīrasringhala from here.Ghee in small pots are offered to the presiding deity Shiva and are placed on steps leading to the sanctum. Its called
Neyyamrithu in
Malayalam language.
While men are allowed to enter the shrine always, woman are allowed at certain times of the day.
Though it is not practised as widely as it was in the earlier days, it is still a religious custom among many local Hindu women to visit three prominent temples in Taliparamba when they are pregnant. Apart from Rajarajeshwara temple, the other two temples are
Sri Krishna at
Trichambaram and another Shiva (
Vaidyanatha) at
Kanjiragat, about 6Kms from Taliparamba. It is believed that Shiva at Rajarajeshwara temple assures the child a high status, Sri Krishna of Trichambaram bestows it with good nature and mental qualities and the deity at Kanjiragat temple with long life.
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Taliparamba*
Parassinikkadavu*
Parassinikkadavu Temple*
Muthappan temple*
Kunnathoor Padi*
Mani Madhava Chakyar*
Satellite images of Rajarajeshwara Temple.*
Images & more about Rajarajeswara Temple.
