KODIYETTA MAHOTSAVAM THULUVANNUR SREE MAHAVISHNU TEMPLE

Panchayath/ Municipality/ Municipality Corporation

LOCATION District

Nearest Town/ Payyanur Town – 1.6Km Landmark/ Junction

Nearest Bus station Payyanur New Bus Stand - 2 Km

Nearest Railway -7.1 Km station ACCESSIBILITY

Nearest Airport Calicut International Airport - 152 Km Thuluvannur Sree Mahavishnu Temple, Telephone : Thayineri, Payyanur PO. . Temple Office : 04985 - 203813 - 670 307. President (Res) : 04985 - 202781 Email : [email protected] CONTACT Secretary (Res) : 04985 - 208780

DATES FREQUENCY DURATION

TIME February/ March Annual 7 Days

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL (Legend/History/Myth)

The Four Armed (Chaturbahu) Lord Mahavishnu is the principal deity of this temple. Sree Maha Ganapati, Sree Ayyappa, SreeBhagavati and Navagrahas are the sub deities here. Ancient Kerala which is believed to have been created by Lord Parasurama, spread between Kanyakumari and Gokarnam was divided into 64 Gramas - 32 Malayala Gramas and 32 Tulu Gramas. Each Grama had a Gramakshethra. Payyanur was the last Malayala Gramam and Sree Subrahmanya Temple was the Gramakshethra of Payyanur. Thuluvannur was the first Tulu Grama adjacent to Payyanur. Thuluvannur Mahavishnu Temple was the Gramakshethra of Thuluvanur Gramam. Due to one reason or the other, the Thulu Brahmins who were the caretakers of the Thuluvannur Temple had to leave the place and travel to Northern side which has resulted in the ruin of the temple. Thus the temple, for a long time was in a deserted situation without a caretaker. And there occured some miracles which has lead to the resurrection of the temple to the present state.

Covered with wild shrubs and trees, till a few years ago, Thuluvannur was a deserted area in serene seclusion on the banks of the river Kavvayi. A portion of the river jutting towards the place like a small lake was known by the sweet name, 'Palthirapuzha' - the river of milky ripples. Though a deserted place, it appeared to be hiding some mystery. However , a few years ago the jungle area on the banks of the Palthirapuzha came under the close scrutiny of some inquisitive youngsters of the locality. They discovered a ruined platform there. Though it was taken for a site of an ancient temple, there was no conclusive proof. From the central hole of this supposed sanctum sanctorum grew a thorny Kara tree. A devotee and tree lover, came there one day with a banyan tree sapling searching around for a suitable place to plant it. At last he selected a place which normally one would hesitate to choose as it was very near a tree and close to the edge of a footpath. He dug the place for taking a pit when the spade stuck a stone. As the stone was cleared, an adjacent stone was uncovered, both forming part of a circular row of stones - the edge of a well! With this discovery, people began clearing the well and by the evening, as the auspicious conch sounded at dusk, a heavy idol was unearthed from the well . It was an idol of great beauty - a chathur bahu idol of Lord Mahavishnu!

The recovered ancient idol was installed in the temporary shrine. Further Prasna revelation said that as the idol was in a partly broken condition, its spiritual power should be withdrawn and transferred to a new idol which should be finally installed in a new shrine.

Thuluvannur Sree Mahavishnu Temple was the Grama Kshethra of Thuluvannur and Lord Mahavishnu was known as Thuluvannurappan. It is believed that the temple was constructed in the Chozha regime centuries by the Seevolli Namboothiris (Thulu desa Brahmins) who were strong Vaishnavites. The Four Armed (Chaturbahu) Idol of Lord Mahavishnu is the main prathishta in this temple. The Sudarshana Chakra in the hand of the Lord idol can be found as if it is ‘ready for use’. In this way this prathishta is different from that of other Mahavishnu Temples with this special characteristic of the idol. The important offering in this temple is Vishnu Pooja. Many devotees from far and near visit the temple to offer Vishnu Pooja to Thuluvannurappan for ‘Santhana labdhi’ and ‘Abheeshta Sidhi’

Annual Approximately 1000 RELEVANCE- NO. OF PEOPLE (Local / National / International) PARTICIPATED

EVENTS/PROGRAMS DESCRIPTION (How festival is celebrated)

Kodiyetta Maholsavam The sacred 7-day annual festival commences on Laksham Deepam February/March and concludes with the Avabritha Snanam samarpanam (Araat). During the days of the festival, there will be Thiruvathirakali performance of the temple arts and Prasada-feast (Annadanam) for all devotees. Sahasradeepam Spiritual Speeches The festival starts with Kodiyettam and the festivities are Cultural Festivities prominent in the evening time. Laksham deepam Dramas samarpanam, Thiruvathirakali, Panchavadyam, Sahasradeepam, spiritual speeches, cultural festivities, Annadanam Dramas etc are prominent. Three days of continuous dance Avabritha Snanam dramas and arangettam for students of dance etc are (Araat). prominent. The second last day constitutes the Thayambaka performance in great grandeur.

Theyyam is part of the festivities here. Its a popular ritual form of worship of in Kerala, , predominant in the area (consisting of present- day Kasargod, Kannur Districts, Taluk of Wayanad and and Taluks of of Kerala) and also in South Canara and Kodagu of as a living cult with several thousand-year-old traditions, rituals and customs. The performers of Theyyam belong to the lower caste community, and have an important position in Theyyam. People of these districts consider Theyyam itself as a God and they seek blessings from this Theyyam.