Ernakulathappan Temple- 1 of the 7 Royal Temples of Shiva!

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Ernakulathappan Temple- 1 of the 7 Royal Temples
of Shiva!

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• Om Namah Shivay!!
• Ernakulam Temple, also known as the
  Ernakulathappan Temple is one of the seven royal
  temples of Lord Shiva that is located in the
  heart of Ernakulam in the downtown of the Kochi
  city.
• As per the locals belief, this temple is
  dedicated to the Hindu deity, Lord Shiva where
  he is said to be the protector of the place and
  hence the temple was named Ernakulathappan- The
  Lord of Ernakulam.
• With Lord Shiva as the prime deity, the temple
  was constructed in the conventional Keralaite
  style roofed with copper tiles and the Devaswom
  facing the west direction which is not very
  usual.
• The sanctum complex here is circular with finely
  sculptured walls.

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• Well, this was what about the temple but its
  legendary roots are deeply associated with the
  Hindu epic tale- Mahabharatha where Arjuna the
  third Pandava made severe penance here to
  conciliate Lord Shiva.
• Pleased with Arjunas penance, Lord Shiva along
  with his consort Parvathi set out from their
  abode Kailash to where the Pandava was.
• Lord Shiva disguises himself as Kiratha, a tribal
  hunter and appears before Arjuna. 

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• He later sees that a wild boar was charging the
  Pandava and shoots an arrow.
• Arjuna who is known greatly for his archery also
  shoots the boar with his arrow.
• The boar that was a demon named Mookasura was
  disguised whose reality was known after his
  death.
• However, there was a continual dispute as to who
  was the killer and on confirming Kiratha to be
  the killer, Arjuna gets furious and instills a
  Lingam made of mud and offers flowers and, to his
  surprise he sees the flowers on the head of
  Kiratha.

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• Understanding that Kiratha is none other than
  Lord Shiva becomes pleased and on seeing Arjunas
  devotion Lord Shiva grants him a Pashupatha
  arrow.
• After all these, Arjuna leaves and years later
  the place becomes uninhabited and the lingam
  installed by Arjuna is long forgotten.
• Centuries later, a boy named Devala who was
  cursed by a sage gets the body of a snake crawls
  to the same forests, discovers the mud-built
  lingam and offers his penance from redeeming from
  the curse. 

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• Finally, Lord Shiva and Parvati appeared in their
  original form and asked him to take a dip in the
  nearby pond.
• In doing so, his curse was redeemed and a new
  idol appeared just near to the original Lingam
  that was immovable.
• Later on, a temple here dedicating to the Lord
  was constructed here by the public. To visit this
  grandeur, make an online bus ticket booking at
  ticketgoose.com.