Places · Temple
Kizhakkeppuram Ayyappa Temple
A temple to Sastha (Ayyappan) in Kizhakkeppuram, the eastern side of Aranattukara, built in 1987.
Photo to come
The Ayyappa temple stands in Kizhakkeppuram, the eastern side of Aranattukara. Its deity is Sastha, the name by which Ayyappan is worshipped in many Kerala temples.
A young temple in an old neighbourhood
The book records that the temple was built in 1987 by members of the Parayil family. That makes it one of the newest shrines in the area, but the neighbourhood is old. The book notes that in earlier centuries Hindu families lived together in Kizhakkeppuram, in Lalur to the west and in Pattalangadi to the north, while the Christian traders clustered around the markets. It also stresses how closely the communities worked together, with Hindu neighbours joining in the church feasts and Hindu children studying in the parish schools.
The worship of Ayyappan, like that of the village mother goddess, goes back to the kavu (sacred grove) tradition that the book traces through all the older temples of the area.
Help us complete this page
The book says very little about this temple. We do not yet have its festival dates, pooja timings or the story of how it came to be built. If you belong to the temple community, please share its history with us.
