A Salute to the Artistic Excellence

Standing mesmerized among the crowd inside the far flung compound of Sri Vadakumnathan Temple, I forget to pray.  From the entrance through a huge “gopuram”, the slow journey starts from the “Vilakumadom”, with a hypnotic spell, to the different shrines situated in the green land. Thanks to the instructions inscribed there on how to move through the intricate temple complex and the rituals to be followed.

It is a proud possession of Thrissur, this classical example of the rich Kerala architecture. For the dear Thrissurites who still did nt much cared to know about the legend behind this artistic marvel, here it is.

“Vadakumnathan Temple,” which is also known as Thenkailasa (Kailasa of the South) is said to have been built by Parashuraman. Legend says that Adi Sankaracharya’s parents who were childless for many years prayed at this temple, and as a gift of Lord Siva, Adi Sankaracharya was born to them.

The temple is a combination of ancient and rare architectural techniques, almost forgotten by today’s building fraternity. The main temple complex is spread over nine acres of land. The four magnificent gateways, called gopurams, and the massive stone wall around the temple quadrangle are imposing pieces of craftsmanship and skill. Each gopuram owns beautifully carved out wooden pillars and wooden bracket figures.

Artistic Excellence

According to the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), Thrissur circle, the temple was built between 9th and 14th century A.D. The temple has a highly evolved tradition of ancient architecture, wooden sculptures and mural paintings. The spokesperson of ASI says- “Most of the other temples in Kerala show one or two of these evolved features but in Vadakkunathan all of them are perfectly combined and this makes it unique.”

The outer walls of the main temple enclosure, called vilakkumadom like other Kerala temples, are lined up with lamps. The centre of this main enclosure is a multi-shrine complex with four  principal shrines (Naalambalam) dedicated to Shiva, Sankaranarayana, Rama and Ganapathy. The Sankaranarayana shrine is beautiful with elegant 17th century murals delineating graphically the stories of the Mahabharata. The other two murals in the surrounding cloisters — Phanivarasayana (Mahavishnu) and Nrithanatha (Nataraja) — are worshipped regularly. Lord Siva in a hunter form called - Vettekkaran is also worshipped within the nalambalam enclosure


There are namaskara mandapams (spaces for special rituals and Vedic chanting) with beautifully carved wooden pillars in front of all the central shrines. The temple theatre, known as koothambalam, has no parallels anywhere in this world. The shrines and the koothambalam displays exquisitely carved wooden vignettes. A 41-day special programme of mythological story telling, Koothu and an ancient form of dramatic dance, Koodiyattom, is conducted in this theatre annually.


The temple is built with rich vastu precincts and according to the famous vastu expert, Kanippayoor Krishnan Namboodiripad, it has all the ingredients of a perfect structure. The ancient science of Indian temple architecture is closely associated with many rituals and allied sciences like geometry, iconography, astrology, vastu sastra, tantra sastra and mural painting with organic pigments.


The idol of the principal deity Vadakkunathan (Shiva) is unseen, as it is covered with a 12-foot high mount of ghee, formed by the daily abhisheka (ablution) with ghee over the centuries. It is a wonder that the ghee, in spite of high temperature, doesn’t melt. A devotee looking into the sanctum can see only a sixteen-foot high mount of ghee embellished with thirteen cascading crescents of gold and three serpent hoods at top. According to traditional belief, this represents the snow-clad Mount Kailas.

Ganapathi shrine is positioned facing the temple kitchen and offering of Appam (sweetened rice cake fried in ghee) to Mahaganapathy is one of the most important offerings at the temple. Propitiating Ganapathy here is believed to be a path to prosperity and wealth.

The sprawling 64-acre Thekkinkadu maidan encircling the temple, along with the temple itself, is the  venue for the famous Thrissur Pooram festival.

Temple At Present


The temple has not undergone any major conservation efforts yet, except for periodic maintenance. Conserving a centuries-old temple which is also a protected monument is a real challenge. According to  ASI conservation department, “The huge size of the monument and the difficulty of obtaining traditional building material make it a very tedious and time consuming work”.


The gopurams are in a bad condition, the sculptured pillars and the roof rafters has been eaten up by termites and the roof copper plates are getting corroded. The roof of the temple complex is leaking at many points during the monsoons. The wall plasters has been  peeled off at many places.


According to ancient science, the original plaster material was made out of powdered shells, nine different herbs and jaggery. The whole preparation, which took 40 days, required skilled traditional craftsmen which are not  here now. The traditional way of applying anti-microbial wood treatment is also unique and laborious. The wood preservative is prepared by boiling seven herbs in sesame oil and bee wax. The entire process of conservation goes in tandem with the rituals mentioned in tantra shastra, astrology and vastu shastra
The temple, owned by the Cochin Devaswom Board, is protected under the Archaeological Monuments and Archaeological Sites Remains Act – 1958 and it is mandatory to conserve it following the techniques used to build it originally.

The conservation of Sree Vadakkunathan temple, helps to conserve our rich, traditional architecture for future and it also contributes in reviving many extinct traditions and preserving our rich cultural and social heritage.

By Nishaa