- Timings
- 5 AM to 12 noon, 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
- Area
- About 16 acres
- Main festival
- Ayilyam (September to October)
- Nearest railway station
- Haripad (about 3.4 km)
- Nearest airport
- Cochin (about 112 km)
- Dress code
- Traditional; men remove shirts
What to see
The main deities are Nagaraja and his consort Sarpayakshi. Nagaraja here is worshipped in two aspects, as Vasuki associated with Shiva and as Anantha associated with Vishnu. Around the shrine, about 30,000 serpent images of every size stand along the walkways and among the trees. The best-known offering is Uruli Kamazhthal, in which childless couples place a bronze vessel upside down before the deity.
The legend
Tradition says Parashurama, who raised Kerala from the sea, found the salty land unfit to live on and prayed to Nagaraja, who made it fertile. The name is said to come from the Mandara trees where the serpent god chose to live.
Another story tells of a childless couple, Vasudeva and Sreedevi, who nursed serpents burnt in a forest fire. Pleased, Nagaraja was born to Sreedevi as a five-headed serpent son, alongside a human child. Before withdrawing into the cellar of the family home, he said that only his mother should worship him, which is why a priestess leads the rituals to this day.
Festivals
- Mannarasala Ayilyam: on the Ayilyam star in the Malayalam months of Kanni and Thulam (September to October), when the serpent images are carried in procession to the family home
- Mahashivaratri: special worship, fasting, Sarpabali and a procession
- Nilavara pooja: a few days after Shivaratri, when the priestess opens the cellar and distributes Nurum Palum
Timings and dress code
The temple is open from 5 AM to 12 noon and again from 5:30 to 7:30 in the evening. Traditional clothes are expected. Sarees, churidars or pavada with blouse are fine for women, and men must remove their shirts before entering.
How to reach
Haripad railway station is about 3.4 km away, and the temple is roughly 3 km south-east of the Haripad bus stand; autos are easy to find. Cochin International Airport is about 112 km away and Thiruvananthapuram International Airport about 118 km.
Also nearby
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