Sree Kulasekaranallur Shiva temple, Nedumpura, Thrissur Dist., Kerala

Nedumpura Shiva Temple - East Entrance Gopuram

What a long episode the world has been through! Man tried to exploit nature with his arrogance, ego, pride, greed and what not! Nature simply smiled. An invisible form emerged from it and in no time made the man go on his knees. Crores suffered, lakhs died and the world crippled like never before. Nature yet again teaches the man how trivial he is compared to its colossal power.

If this is one form of nature which the world endure, we do have the other form, which is on the other extreme. Caring, compassionate and one which conspires and guides the sincere seekers to pure bliss! And as we restarted our broken expeditions, the first since the world flipped, to the 108 abodes of Lord Shiva, our first prayers was to Mother Nature - "We pray Mother - Protect us! Guide us! And take us to what is to be known to transcend this material world!"

Thus in the comfort of our prayers blessed by early morning showers we took our ride to Sree Kulasekaranallur Shiva temple, Nedumpura. To start with, we got very limited written material on the temple or the place. Once again, the book “108 Sivakshetrangal” by Sri.Kunjikuttan Ilayath became our first guide.

Nedumpura Village View

While Rajeshannu dropped us at Thrissur by 5:30 am, it was the company of Brijesh which took us ahead. In the morning twilight, drifting through uncrowded roads along Shornur road we reached Cheruthuruthy, 30 km from Thrissur, by 6:30 am. From there, a 2 km drive taking a sharp left from Cheruthuruthy Higher Secondary School took us to the destination of the day - Sree Kulasekaranallur Shiva temple.

East Gopuram - another view

The moment we arrived, we felt the vibes of what we are going to experience. A double-storied, age-old, red-brick gopuram greeted us to the temple from the east. A rich green pond just outside the gopuram on the north-east side echoed the class of the place. As we enter the gopuram, the naalambalam is seen which looks as old as the gopuram. The valia bali-kallu (principal bali-peeta) is outside the naalambalam. There is a nandi idol in between the entrance and the bali-kallu. A renovation work is going on in the north part of the naalambalam.

View from East - with renovation in progress

The nature also provided us an excellent reception. We felt a meditative calmness everywhere in this village which reflected in the people we met too. The delicate drizzle seemed to drift down so silently. Far from the chaos we felt we are melting in the nature’s bliss. Then there was that nature’s special spectacle for us - peacocks! Many were spotted relaxing on the coconut trees and temple roofs. As we were entering the gopuram, a family of them slowly ambled past us around the naalambalam. For a moment we could not believe what is happening around – a Jumanji feel!

Peacocks !

Once we were back to out senses, we walked around the naalambalam which had become slippery due to rains. There is a sub shrine of Vishnu at the north-west side of the temple. We entered the naalambalam from the north door. Inside the naalambalam, it is a spectacle of classic Kerala architecture. Granite paved surroundings, red-brick temple well, namaskara-mandapam, the unique two-storied, copper plated elliptical (gaja-prishta architecture) sreekovil studded with intricate carvings sprinkling antiquity made it an indescribable experience for all of us. The Lord here is facing east and felt to bless everyone around with utmost peace. There are sub-shrines of Ganapathi and Sastha inside the naalambalam.

In the book, “108 Sivakshetrangal”, Sri.Kunjikuttan Ilayath suggests the existence of this temple during the time of Kulasekhara Kings (9^th -10^th Cent.). The legend says the temple was constructed by Perumthachan and similar to Thrissur Vadakkumnathan Temple, here also there was daily nivedya of 18½ para (almost 100kg) of rice to the deity. The temple is run by the Mathoor Mana, Karipaal Mana, Mekkad Mana, Thiruvallakaattil Mana, Kapplingaatt Mana and Vailissery Mana. Tantram is with Eeykaatt Mana. There was Ooath (recital of Vedas) and Ooathoottusadya in the temple during ancient times.

Majestic Sreekovil - Gajaprishta architecture

However the state of affairs of the temple is completely different now. There are hardly any signs of that old grandeur. There is only one priest who handles everything. To perform Pushpanjali, Dhaara (Rs.5 each) or any other vazhivaadu, the priest himself notes it in the book. Though Sri.Ilayath refers to the popularity of appa-nivedyam for Ganapathi, there is no indication of that whatsoever. At the time of our visit, there were just a few humble devotees in the temple. Among them was Sri. Mekkad Vasudevan Namboothiri, an elderly person from one of the families which runs the temple. It started to drizzle again and at the entry of the gopuram, we got an opportunity to talk to Sri.Vasudevan Namboothiri.

“There is no clear documentation on how old this temple is. Also as far as I remember there is no renovation done to the main structure of the temple. It was as you see it today. This temple do not have any annual festival. During Sivarathri or special days there are additional poojas, that’s all” - We had noticed there is no dwajastamba in the temple. “Long back there was an attempt to conduct festivals but due to ominous signs it was promptly put to an end”.

“Here is another interesting matter about this temple. Till few decades back there was one unique ritual which was conducted here, known as Jayaa Bali. Though there are few other temples which conduct this, in this temple it used to be conducted in a very elaborate form”.

“Why it was stopped? Why it is not continued again?” -we asked

“There are several factors. The main reason is the rigorous rituals and discipline to be followed while conducting Jayaa Bali. Though it is tough to explain in entirety, the rituals has to be impeccable and should be performed strictly following the customs and traditions. Recently there was a discussion to conduct Jayaa Bali again. But it is these stringent rituals which holds many back. The rituals will start after Athaazha Pooja and will continue till early morning. Till then the entire area should be completely cordoned off. I myself had witnessed one decades back. With no power in those days, we used to burn wood in the surroundings to keep a vigil to ensure nothing gets into the enclosure of the rituals!”

“Another reason is expense. Decades back Jayaa Bali used to be conducted every year. But the land reforms in 1970s resulted in the hardship for the temple. There was a time when for two continuous years the priests in the temple performed the daily rituals without taking anything in return. And in some occasions they even had to bring the materials for daily nivedya from their house. I know those times as one among those priests was my father. Compared to those days, situation is now much better.” -  Vasudevan Namboothiri concluded.

The drizzle had stopped. Our return journey was inevitable. And as we slowly took our road back to our ordeal, the peacocks on those trees were seen rejoicing in the eternal bliss and companionship of the Lord within – Om Namah Sivayah !

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