Anandavalleeswaram Temple, Kollam
Anandavalleeswaram Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Mahadeva (Lord Shiva) which is situated in the heart of Kollam (Quilon) Municipal Corporation, 2.5 km from Kollam Junction Railway Station.There are many Government offices nearby and the beautiful Ashtamudi Lake[1] is very close to this shrine. The temple is believed to be 1100 years old. The famous Thirumullavaram Beach[2] is not very far.
Deities and Sub-Deities
The presiding deity is Lord Shiva and his consort Devi Parvathy is also in this temple.Lord Shiva is consecrated facing west and Parvathi Devi towards east.Lord Shiva of this temple is called as 'Ananda Swaroopan' and Devi Parvathy is called as 'Swayamvara Parvathy'.They are said to be in a happy state and hence the temple name 'Anandavalleeswaram'.(Anandam in Malayalam means 'Joy'). Initially the temple had Shiva as the deity and Devi Parvati was consecrated later in the form of Anandavalli. Even though Devi Parvati's garbagriha is the immediate one to the entrance, one is supposed to enter the temple only through the door which lead to the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Shiva. As in other Hindu temple in Kerala males should remove shirt before entering the main temple structure and also should not fully circambulate ( Pradakshin) Lord Shiva as the ' Ovu' should not be crossed.
The sub deities includes Ganapathy, Murugan, Sree Krishnan, Hanuman Swamy, Swamy Ayyappan, Mahavishnu, Lekshmi Devi, Bhoomi Devi and Naga Devathas.
Annual Festival
The annual festival in this temple is celebrated in the Malayalam month of Meenam (mid March) The festival is for 10 days and the Thantric rites are for 'Thazhamon Madom'. Shivaratri, Navara tri, Mandala Makara Vilakku etc. are all celebrated.
Offerings
Abhishekam, Ganapathy Homam, Mrithyunjaya homam, Ashtotharchana, Muzhukappu, Pushpamjali and so on.
See also
- Sree Vadasserikavu Bhagavathy Temple
- Sasthamangalam Mahadevar Temple