Ettumanoor Temple

The small state Kerala in India has the majority of population, the Hindus. Kerala is famous with its colourful temple festivals. These annual festivals of every temple are elaborate and exotic. The main attraction at these festivals is the elephants. Each temple with its own legends & myths conduct an annual festival as a tribute to the presiding deity.

The ten day long festival called “Utsavam” is conducted almost with same rituals in most of the temples. The main idol of the temple is taken out of the sanctum sanctorum only during these days. On elaborately decorated elephants, with processions & music the idol is taken around. On the ninth day the idol is taken for an imaginary hunting called Pallivetta, in which people dress themselves as wild animals & give the surroundings a forest atmosphere. The next day is the famous “Aarattu” festival.

Ettumanoor is an important pilgrim Centre of Hindus. Ettumanoor is a small town famous with the Shiva temple, “Ettumanoor Mahadeva temple”. The temple building, with its gopuram and the fortress around it, have Dravidian mural paintings on the walls inside and outside of the main entrance. Myths have it that the Pandavas and the sage Vyasa had worshipped at this temple. Ettumanoor Mahadeva Temple is one of the oldest Kerala temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Araattu festival falls in February-March. This Arattu festival is popularly known as Ettumanoor Ezharapponnana. This temple is rich with its treasures. Seven elephants of the same size with 13 kilos of pure gold and one smaller in size forms the Ezharaponnana. There is a golden umbrella too in this temple which is also taken out for the procession during the festival.

Ezharaponnana or the seven and a half golden elephants represent the Ashtadwigjam - which are Airavatham, Pundareekam, Kanmudam, Ajnana, Pushpadantham, Supradeekam, Sarvabhauman, and Vamana. As Vamana is a short one, the eighth elephant is a short one of one foot while others are two feet high. The spectacular event of the Arattu festival with the Ezharapponnana is beyond any description.

Aarattu is the Holy dip given to the deity as the ten day long utsavam concludes. This is symbolic of purification and rejuvenation of the body and spirit after the festivities. After the previous day’s Pallivetta, the deity Sri Mahadeva at Ettumanoor is taken out in procession, with elephants & panchavadyam, and thalappoli, where the ezharaponnaana or the golden elephants representing the eight dik paalakas or the guardians of the cardinal directions wait at the specially decorated site in the north east corner of the temple. This makes the Ettumanoor aarattu festival unique.