ABOUT

Vadakkunnathan Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva at city of Thrissur, of Kerala state in India. This is the first Shiva temple created by Lord Parasurama . This temple is a classic example of the architectural style of Kerala and has monumental towers on all four sides and also a kuttambalam. Mural paintings depicting various episodes from Mahabharata can be seen inside the temple. Vadakkunnathan temple is surrounded by a massive stone wall enclosing an area of nearly 8-9 acres. Inside this fortification there are four gopurams indicating the four directions - North, South, East and West. Apart from these four gopurams there is a multi-shrined complex in the center with three principal shrines dedicated to Shiva or Vadakkunnathan, Shankaranarayana and Rama. Lord Vettekkaran (Shiva in a hunter form) is also worshipped within the nalambalam enclosure.The shrines and the Kuttambalam display vignettes carved in wood. The temple, along with the mural paintings, has been declared as a National Monument by India under the AMASR Act. According to popular local lore, this is the first temple built by Parasurama, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu. Tekkinkadu Ground, encircling the Vadakkunnathan Temple, is the main venue of the Thrissur Pooram. Non-Hindus are not allowed to enter into the temple. The temple was built at the time of Perumthachan from Parayi petta panthirukulam. It is said that Perumthachan lived during the seventh century; so the Koothambalam may be 1,300 years old. According to Malayalam historian VVK Valath, the temple was a pre-Dravidian Kavu (shrine). Later, the temple was influenced by Buddhism, Jainism and Vaishnavism. In the early days, Paramekkavu Bhagavathi was also inside the Vadakkunnathan temple. But Koodalmanikyam Temple, Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple and Ammathiruvadi Temple, Urakam is older than Vadakkunnathan temple, according to temple documents. This is the first Shiva temple created by Lord Parasurama. Shiva here is more popularly known as Vadakkunnathan.