Sreekanteswaram Siva Temple, Aavanoor, Thrissur Dist., Kerala

Na punyam, na papam na saukhyam na dukham

Na mantro, na theertham, na veda na yagnah

Aham bhojanam naiva, bhojyam na bhokta

Chidananda Roopa Sivoham, Sivoham!

Aavanoor, earlier known as Avunganoor, is yet another small village not far from Mundoor, both being little vintage pockets from the main Thrissur-Kunnamkulam road. We completed our prayers at Mundoor Siva Temple and got the directions to the village of Avanoor for our next destination - Sreekanteswaram Siva Temple. On the way, however, we lost the direction for a while, but, divine blessings, got back soon before we went too far! All these little experiences felt like a snippets of challenges in reaching the Lord!

Avanoor, as far as we read, is praised as a land of pristine village charm. In the Manipravala work “Chandrolsavam”, written around 1500 AD, Aavanoor is described as a village with natural beauty. The book 108 Sivakshetrangal by Sri.Kunjikuttan Ilayath, probably written in 1980-90’s, states “Avunganoor is still a beautiful village. Sreekanteswaram temple is rich in that vintage charm. On the upper side of a vast paddy field, amidst green grass stays this small temple of Aavanoor!” - With all those reflections we were feeling the excitement to reach our destination!

And thus in a while, we reached. But what we imagined from what we read was nowhere near to what we witnessed at where we reached. There is no charm of village around, neither vast paddy fields, nor vintage temple. Unfortunately, time had already swept away all those pristine impressions of this little village and left it with mere constructions in concrete form.

A big peepal tree at the entrance to the temple stands as the mute witness to the changing times. We entered into the newly built mandapam with big canvases of God’s and a well-polished Balikallu. Usually Balikallu indicates the richness, divinity and oldness of a temple. However, in its renovated form, the machine cut stone unfortunately is not in sync with the traditional temple structures.

“Though it is not always practical, the key constructions like the balikallu, the idols of the temple should be restored and renovated in its real form itself. The moment it loses its old significance it takes away the divinity of the temple. The austerity which goes into that creation is what makes them truly divine. If we cannot preserve that, then it is as good as not preserving the temple itself.” – felt Divs

The reference to 108 Sivakshetrangal, states the temple was in ruins in those days – “There is no Balikallu at the temple. Instead there are pieces of stones there. Are those remnants of ancient temple? The temple doesn’t have anything special about its architecture or sculpture.” About the history, it states – “The temple belonged to Aattoor Changaliyod Vaadyaan Mana. A Tirumeni at Padmanabhaswamy Temple brought the power of the Lord of Kashi Viswanatha to Avanoor. It is believed those who pray here need not have to go to Kashi. Once the temple was having Sivarathri celebrations. However, down the ages, with the declining wealth of the Mana, the temple celebrations also waned.”

In the outer prakara, there are sub-shrines of Bagavathi, Ayyappa which are renovated. Naga idol is consecrated under a tree along the old stone built outer temple wall.  In the inner prakara, the floor is paved with modern red tiles, which completely wipes out the traditional grace of the temple. The dwarapalakas are damaged but are kept as it is, leaving them in original form. On the right side of main sanctum is a Ganapathi idol, though looks to be old, is told to be new. It is placed inside an iron grill to avoid the human encroachment!. Muruga is also present in the inner prakara. The main deity of Lord Siva is however in absolute peace and in proper proportions to the temple. Lord is facing West and is considered to be in Rowdra Bhava without the presence of Devi. There is a namaskara manda as well with a nandi idol. Temple has two daily poojas and the Tantram is of Kavalapara Thiyannoor Mana. To our surprise we noticed, the main priest of the temple is from Assam!

"The real significance of this temple is probably not understood to all. Having the power of Lord from Kashi, in rowdra bhava is a very significant aspect for this entire village. If sincerely devoted, Lord's blessings will surely reflect on this entire village and beyond." - felt Ram

We found a good samaritan, Sri.Ramachandran, to talk, who works as photographer, but serves the temple in the best possible way he could. “We had several practical challenges to preserve the temple in its original form. First of all, this is not under Devaswam Board. Adding to it, we do not have knowledgeable people around to guide us. Also, it is tough to raise fund to renovate the temple in its original form. It is only recently the day-to-day activities of the temple got stabilized.” About the priest – “Yes, we had several challenges there as well. Whoever we brought in as the priest, left with one or other reason. All those who come are looking at the revenue aspect! That is how at last we ended up with the current priest. We consider all that happens as God’s wish!”

On the backside of temple, we had noticed an antique well with old laterite stone steps going down.  It was having an ancient feel, and it perfectly showcased the temple’s connection to the bygone era. We went down those steps which takes us to a small but dense water front.

As we were about to start back, Sri.Ramachandran, made an impromptu reference to this well – “There is an old well behind. It is considered very auspicious by the ancestors of this village. It is considered that the well has the presence of Goddess Ganga! It is not renovated and is kept as it is!” 

What a relief it was, to know that we have something in its original form which can connect back to the unknown history of this temple! That little note made our visit very special and divine! We started back with a soothing comfort and contentment, Yes! The Lord knows everything and nothing else really matters!