Ernakulam Shiva Temple

Ernakulam Shiva Temple, also known as Ernakulathappan Temple is one of the major temples of Kerala, located in heart of Ernakulam, the downtown area of the city of Kochi. The temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is considered as the city temple, with the presiding deity as the protector of the city, as per local Hindu faiths and traditions. As per the common practice in Kerala, the deity is reverently called Eranakulathappan, which means Lord of Eranakulam. The temple is located within the Durbar Hall Ground. The temple history itself has deep association with history of the city and was one of the 7 royal temples of Kochi Maharajas. The temple is now under administration of Cochin Devasom Board. The temple in its current form was built under active patronage of Diwan Sri Edakkunni Sankara Warrier in year 1846 and raised it level of a Royal temple in the Kochi Kingdom. The temple is built on 1-acre (4,000 m2) land.

Legend

Cheranalloor Kartha Family of South Chittor was the founder of Ernakulam Siva Temple.Asper the devaprasna this temple have a connection with Vaishnava.Jadavedan nampoothiri was the swamiyar of Ernakulam Siva Temple and Thiruvananthapuram Shri Padmanabhaswamy Temple.He was a member of Cheranalloor Kartha Family of South Chittoor

The temple’s legend is deeply associated with Hindu epic Mahabharata. Arjuna, the 3rd Pandava made a severe penance to propitiate Lord Shiva. Pleased with Arjuna’s devotion Shiva accompanied with his consort Sri Parvathi set out from their abode at Mount Kailash to meet Arjuna.

Shiva intends to impress Parvathi with the devotion Arjuna has towards him. Shiva disguises himself as “Kiratha” a tribal hunter before appearing before Arjuna.Just as Shiva appears before Arjuna he sees a wild boar charging towards Arjuna and shoots an arrow at the boar. Arjuna, who is an accomplished archer, also shoots an arrow at the boar. The boar who was in fact a demon named Mookasura in disguise is killed and its original form is revealed. However, dispute arises between Arjuna and Kiratha as to who is the real killer of the animal. A battle ensues between the two, lasting a long time, ultimately resulting in Kiratha’s victory over Arjuna.

The vanquished Arjuna, unable to even stand up makes a Shiva Linga out of mud and performs a pooja offering flowers. To his surprise, he sees that the flower he offers over the Shiva Linga is falling over the head of Kiratha. Arjuna then realises that Kiratha is none other than his Lord Shiva. Pleased with his devotion and sincerity, Lord Shiva granted Pashupatha Arrow to Arjuna. Arjuna left this place and soon this area was covered with dense forest, uninhabited for long time. The existence of the Shiva linga made by Arjuna also disappeared from memories of all…..

Centuries later, a boy named Devala who has been cursed by a sage, now has a body of a snake, crawled into this forest and saw this lingam completely submerged into mud . He worshiped this lingam as part a deep penance in hope for redeeming from the curse. Soon a few people spotted this mysterious man with body of snake and called him as Rishi Nagam (Saint Serpent) and feared even to come near to him. Some even tried to thwart him with sticks etc. Unmoved by all these action, Rishi Nagam continued his severe penance. Finally Lord Shiva and Parvathi appeared in their original form and asked the sage to take a dip in the nearby pond. As soon as he immersed, he was redeemed from the curse. Soon a new idol appeared just near to the original lingam. Based on this legend, the place got its new name, Rishnagakulam (The pond of Rishi Nagam) and the temple was constructed by the public.

Town:: There are buses to Ernakulam from Bangalore, Chennai, Mangalore, Salem, Coimbatore, Madurai and from all major towns in Kerala. Most long running buses pass through the MG Road and the nearest bus stop is ‘South’ or ‘Pallimukku’. The KSRTC bus station is 2 KM away from the temple. Local private buses can be used once you are in Ernakulam town.
Airport:: The nearest airport is the Kochi International Airport at Nedumbassery about 20 KM away from Ernakulam city and the temple. Air India, Indian airlines operate flights to Kochi from Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Jet Airways operate flights from Mumbai.
Railway Station:: There are trains from Chennai, Mangalore, Bangalore,New Delhi, Bokaro, Mumbai. Ernakulam Junction is the nearest railway station. The temple is just over half a kilometer away from this station and can be approached even by walk. However, not all trains to Ernakulam stop at this station. Some trains that are further south bound for Thiruvanandapuram stop only at the Ernakulam Town railway station, which is about 4 KM away from the temple. From this station local buses or taxis are available to the temple.
District:: Ernakulam
Longitude:: 9.968392
Latitude:: 76.283161