Historical Period12c CE
Pre-Chera c. 800 BCE onwards; current structure 9th–12th c. CE
📷 Ssriram mt · [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · source
Deities
Mahadevar of Thiruvanchikulam
Mahadeva of the Old Chera Capital
Mahadeva of the Old Chera Capital
Paadal Petra Sthalangal are Shiva temples sung in the hymns of the 3 Tevaram saints — Tirugnana Sambandar, Tirunavukkaracar (Appar), and Sundaramurti (Sundarar). Composed 7th–9th c. CE, the Tevaram is the sacred geography of Tamil Shaivism and foundational to the Shaiva-Siddhanta philosophy.
Kerala's ONLY Paadal-Petra Shaiva temple. Sundarar ended his earthly life here — Shiva sent a divine white elephant that bore him to Kailasa. The Chera king Cheraman Perumal, Sundarar's friend, jumped on his horse and followed.
Daily 5-fold puja (ushat-kalam at dawn, kala-santi 6 AM, ucchikalam noon, sayaraksha dusk, ardha-jama 9 PM). Principal offerings: jala-abhisheka, panchamrita (milk/curd/ghee/honey/jaggery), vibhuti, bilva leaves.
Every Paadal Petra's sanctity rests on WHICH saint sang of it and HOW MANY pasurams. Tamil Shaiva tradition treats the Tevaram as Dravida Veda — equivalent in holiness to the Sanskrit Vedas.
