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Pazhaya Sreekanteswaram Temple, Kerala
Locality/village : Puthenchantha
State : Kerala
Country : India
Nearest City/Town : Varkala
Best Season To Visit : All
Languages : Malayalam & English
Temple Timings : 4 AM to 12 PM and from 5 PM to 8.30 PM
Photography : Not Allowed
Pazhaya Sreekanteswaram Temple, Puthenchantha, Kerala
Pazhaya Sreekanteswaram temple is positioned in Puthenchantha, Thiruvananthapuram district in the state of Kerala, India. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is now maintained by the Travancore Devaswom Board. Before that, the temple belonged to a Nair Tharavad.
Pazhaya Sreekanteswaram Temple, Puthenchantha,Kerala
The history says that there was an old maid who worked in Sreekanteswaram. She used to rest under a tree keeping aside the pot and the broom after her work. One day she couldn’t lift the pot. She also tried to break the pot with a stone. To her astonishment, the pot started bleeding. After the incident, it is said that Lord Shiva gave darshan to the old woman in the form of Swamyambhu Shiva Lingam.
The temple is open for devotees from 4 AM to 12 PM and from 5 PM to 8.30 PM.
Thiruvathira Mahotsavam and Maha Shivaratri festivals are the two major festivals of this temple. Thiruvathira Mahotsavam is the annual festival of the temple, celebrated in the month of March or April. In this ten-day festival, various magnificent processions and special rituals are performed. The next major festival of the temple is Maha Shivarathri. This festival is grandly celebrated in the Malayalam month of Kumbam. During the festival, devotees circumambulate the temple 108 times chanting the mantras and stotras of Lord Shiva. The unique feature of the festival is that the deity is carried out in procession on the silver Rishabhavana at 3 am. This procession takes place in the 5th day of the temple.
Daily poojas begin at 3.30 am. Nirmalya Darshan in the temple is very famous. It is also believed that one who attends this Darshan continuously for at least 41 days will accomplish their wishes in life with the Lord’s blessings. Other poojas of the temple include Ganapathy Homam, Sahasranama Archana. Vidyarambam, Pushaka pooja, Chavi pooja, Thalimala pooja, Karuka Homam, Ayilya pooja, Charadu pooja and so on.
Info on the deity – Specific to the temple deity
The presiding deities of the temple is Lord Krishna and Lord Sreekanteswara, a form of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is in the Swayambhu Linga form here. Lord Krishna’s deity was later installed to reduce the ferocity of Lord Shiva. The temple also has separate shrines of Lord Mahaganapathy, Lord Dharmasastha, Lord Nagaraja, Lord Murugan, Lord Ayyappan and Lord Anjaneya.
By Road
Puthenchantha is 6 kms from Varkala. The nearest bus station is the Thiruvananthapuram Central Bus Station, located opposite to the Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station. The City Bus Station at East Fort is just 1 km away from Sreekanteswaram Temple.
By Rail
The nearest rail head is the Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway station at a distance of 1 km from the temple.
By Air
The nearest airport is the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport at a distance of 5 kms from the temple.
