Famous Temples in India

Architecture

The Parassala Mahadeva Temple pays special homage to a Dalit (Parayi) woman who discovered the Shivalingam. Thus in honor of the woman, the deity was called ‘Parayi kanda shila’ (lingam discovered by Parayi) which later became Parassala. This temple at Parrasala is a west-facing shrine surrounded big compound walls. It houses two gopurams (towers), one in the east and the other one in the west. The western gopuram is connected to the Anappanthal (elephant enclosure) and Nadappanthal (covered walkway). This also has a namaskara-mandapa (a raised platform for offering prayers to the lord), balikkal- pura (sacrificial stone), thidappally (a store house). The presiding deity of this temple is Lord Shiva who graces within the shree-kovil (sanctum) in the Linga form facing the west. The Lord’s sanctum is made of sandstone and is built in a peculiar shape. Goddess Parvathi graces here from a separate shrine facing the main sanctum of the Lord. The icon of Sri Unni-Ganapathi found on the western side of the ottakkal-mandapam is believed to be growing in size. The northern part of the temple houses Lord Maha-Vishnu who graces from below a gooseberry tree. The Naga Devas are found below a banyan tree in the eastern side o the temple complex. Parassala Mahadeva Temple is well known for its sandstone architecture. The architecture of this shrine is similar to that of the Tamils, and has huge stone pillars. The copper dwajasthamba (flagpole) in front of the temple is quite tall and was reinstalled in April 1997. The ottakkal-mandapam found in this temple is one of its kind, whose platform is made out of a single piece of sandstone measuring 24 sq ft in area. This temple had four temple ponds but the one on the western side has been filled up. The front yard of this ancient shrine is full of carved pillars with images of Vyali (mythological beast) and Vyakhra-pada-muni (Sage associated with Lord Shiva). Sculptures depicting Arjuna performing penance, Hanuman, Shree-Raman (7th incarnation of Lord Vishnu), Kaliya-mardhanam (lord Krishna dancing on the serpent Kaliya), Devi (Goddess), Lord Krishna (8th incarnation of Lord Vishnu) are found here.