According to legend, Puru Maharshi did meditation on the top of the hill, where the Shiva temple now stands. It was a dense forest in those days; hence its name Puruvanam, which became peruvanam (dense forest).
The rishi brought the image of Shiva, the Lingam, half a cylinder, to be installed on the top of the hill. Subsequently, the upper half of the hill, leaving the small area where the Lingam was placed, was razed to its present size, forming a vast plane, with the central upstanding high ground (MADATHILAPPAN) being protected by massive walls on all sides. sides, with twin temples of Eratteppan and Madathilappan, the latter standing tall, with a series of granite steps leading up to the sanctum, from which a sky view of the surrounding landscape is obtained. I never get tired of seeing it, since childhood, as my mother’s house was near the south Gopuram (gate).
There were several venerable old trees in the compound, including the peepal tree and a perillamaram (meaning tree with no name, as it was a stranger there), they all looked very old and about to die. New trees have replaced some of them.
The big koothampalam, where the chakyar koothu was a regular ritual in those days, is rare in the other temples.
The koothu is a kind of monkey act and Ramayanam is the theme. The Chakyar (the actor) will make fun of anyone in the audience, no matter how high their status is!
Once, the chakyar got very close to the man, a VIP who had just entered the lounge, stood there for a few seconds and commented: a real monkey, only the tail is missing!
One is supposed to suffer and smile, never talk back.
Every year, for a month or so, there is thevaruseva, when there will be festivities, at both times of the day, only for Brahmins. The dining room is very long, about four feet high, cut into three segments to allow devotees to pass through. When we were children, we had a hard time jumping into the dining room.
Throughout the year, simple food is served to Brahmins which we shun as beneath our status. Tamil Brahmins made use of this facility. My maternal grandfather’s brother lived in the western gopuram and ate food for free.
The circular Eratteppan shrine (there is a large lingam and a small lingam next to it, hence its name) is very spacious, with a circular covered terrace, allowing the poojary to go from Shiva in the west to Parvathy in the back. back of the sanctuary. In Keralam, Shiva is alone; in rare cases, where he is allowed to enter, he is at the back of the temple.
The eastern entrance, where Tippu Sultan’s soldiers destroyed the gopuram, leads to the wide sloping arena, where seven elephants can stand side by side, during the pooram festival. Below is the spacious temple pond. All the villagers bathe in this water hole, with steps to go down and a pucca shed to one side, where the poojary bathe before entering the temple. The pond does not dry out even in summer, in the rainy season it fills up.
Mekavil Bhagavathy is near the western gopuram. Oorakath Ammathiruvady, Thiruvullakavu Sasthavu and several other temples are located nearby.
The location of the temple is twelve KM from Trichur, on the way to the Triprayar temple of Lord Ram.