Vilwadrinatha Temple
| Vilwadrinatha Temple | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Geography | |
| Country | India |
| State | Kerala |
| District | Thrissur District |
| Location | Thiruvilwamala |
| Culture | |
| Sanctum | Rama and Lakshmana |
| Major festivals | Ekadashi, Niramala |
| Architecture | |
| Architecture | Kerala |
Vilwadrinatha Temple is a Hindu Temple located in Thiruvilwamala, Thrissur district of Kerala. Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu, and his brother Lord Lakshmana are the main deities of this temple. This is one of the four major temples in Kerala dedicated to Lord Rama, the other three being Thriprayar, Kadavallur and Thiruvangad temples, and also one of the rarest temples in India itself which houses Lord Lakshmana. The temple is situated on the middle of Thiruvilwamala village, on the top of a hill 100 ft above the sea level. Bharathappuzha, the second largest river in Kerala, flows through the northern side around 3 km away from the temple, and as the temple is situated on the top of a hill, the river can be clearly seen from the temple.
Lord Parasurama, the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu, assassinated all Kshatriya clans 21 times with his axe, as a revenge of killing his father, sage Jamadagni (Jamadagni was killed by the sons of the evil king Kartavirya Arjuna, as a revenge to Parasurama who assassinated their father). But after that, he was very sad for doing such act as a revenge, and thus he gave all the land he acquired to holy Brahmins. But, some of them were against Parasurama as he massacared thousands of Kshatriyas. After that, he made his own land by throwing his axe to the sea. That land came to be known as Kerala, as it was filled with Kera (Coconut trees. Parasurama gave this land to Brahmins, and made 108 Shiva temples, 108 Durga temples and 5 Sastha temples to them for worship. Later, he went to meditation.
But still, he was not happy. One day, while he was meditating, the ghosts of the Kshatriyas assassinated by Parasurama appeared before him and asked him to give salvation. They also told that if they will not get salvation, they will cause huge problems to the people. After that, he began to pray Lord Vishnu. While praying, he heard a message, which stated that Lord Shiva has reached Vilwadri (Sanskritised version of Thiruvilwamala) with his full family and guards and he should reach there immediately. Parasurama immediately proceeded to Vilwadri. Lord Shiva presented him and idol of Lord Vishnu, and told that he worshipped that idol in Kailasa. Parasurama found a very suitable place nearby and consecrated the idol there, in a manner of getting darshan for the ghosts.
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