3000 year old arthaneeswar temple in kerala
Had the great fortune to visit this small village called Arakkuparamba named after the arakku palace built for Pandavas in here. This place is situated in the Peruthalmanna Taluk, Kerala close to the town called Karikalathani. It is believed that the Famed Arakku palace was built here during the Mahabharatha times, which was meant to kill the Pandavas. When they came to know the nature of the palace made up of easily combustible material and the plot to set Kunti devi and the 5 brothers, escaped through an underground tunnel to safety. The villagers say that even today we can find few stones that are here which can catch fire just like that which they say goes to prove the existence of pandavas in here. (I didnt see them so cannot say anything about it)
There is a small temple here in which there is a siva lingam which is split in the middle. This temple is being reconstructed currently after a teacher found the remnants of the temple about 80 odd years ago when he was tilling the land. On further digging they found the small courtyard and they have reconstructed the temple. While they originally believed that this was a Siva temple, during Devaprasanam they learnt that it is a not Siva only but the Arthaneeswar temple. The significance of this temple is that the lingam and the entire surrounding courtyard is always in water even during acute summer. Even the melsanti doesn't enter the sanctum santorium but stops short of the nandhi and from there he draws the power which he establishes in the small idol and the kuthuvillaku in the south side of the prakaram. On the Sivarathri day all are allowed inside the sanctum sanctorium and pooja are performed for the lingam then. There is also a Ambal sannadhi here. The courtyard outside the temple has a Kodimaram which is made up of a single stone.
During monsoon season you need to wade through knee deep water to enter the prakaram.
We were fortunate to get the blessing of Arthanaeeswar.
The people in this village believe that praying to this Deity will help you get married and get good children.
How to visit
Karikalathani is about 57 kms from Palakkad. From Kozhikode it is 53 kms away. It is situated on the Palakkad - Kozhikode Highway. You can catch a bus from either of these 2 towns or take a private car to reach Karikalathani. From this place any auto will take you to the temple which is situated on the leeway of a mountain. While there is a pucca cement road very much near the temple for the last 10 mts you have to go through a small mud road surrounded by fields filled with Banana, Araicanut or Rubber plantations.
There is a small temple here in which there is a siva lingam which is split in the middle. This temple is being reconstructed currently after a teacher found the remnants of the temple about 80 odd years ago when he was tilling the land. On further digging they found the small courtyard and they have reconstructed the temple. While they originally believed that this was a Siva temple, during Devaprasanam they learnt that it is a not Siva only but the Arthaneeswar temple. The significance of this temple is that the lingam and the entire surrounding courtyard is always in water even during acute summer. Even the melsanti doesn't enter the sanctum santorium but stops short of the nandhi and from there he draws the power which he establishes in the small idol and the kuthuvillaku in the south side of the prakaram. On the Sivarathri day all are allowed inside the sanctum sanctorium and pooja are performed for the lingam then. There is also a Ambal sannadhi here. The courtyard outside the temple has a Kodimaram which is made up of a single stone.
During monsoon season you need to wade through knee deep water to enter the prakaram.
We were fortunate to get the blessing of Arthanaeeswar.
The people in this village believe that praying to this Deity will help you get married and get good children.
How to visit
Karikalathani is about 57 kms from Palakkad. From Kozhikode it is 53 kms away. It is situated on the Palakkad - Kozhikode Highway. You can catch a bus from either of these 2 towns or take a private car to reach Karikalathani. From this place any auto will take you to the temple which is situated on the leeway of a mountain. While there is a pucca cement road very much near the temple for the last 10 mts you have to go through a small mud road surrounded by fields filled with Banana, Araicanut or Rubber plantations.
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