108 Shiva Temples


This is a List of the 108 Shiva Temples mentioned in the Shivala Sotram.

Background

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Parasurama created the land between Gokarna and Kanyakumari. It is said that Kerala was reclaimed from the ocean using his axe for donating to Brahmins after killing of King Kartavirya Arjuna and other Kshatriyas. He split this land in to 64 villages. Out of these 64 villages, 32 villages are in between Perumpuzha and Gokarnam and the spoken language was Tulu. The remaining 32 villages were in Malayalam speaking area between Perumpuzha and Kanyakumari.
Parasurama the sixth avatar of Maha Vishnu, he was youngest son of sage Jamadagni and Renuka. According legends, after donating the land to Brahmins, Hundred and Eight Maha Shiva Lingam and Durga Idols were installed in these 64 villages. These Hundred and Eight Shiva Temples are mentioned in the Shivala Sotram and song is written in Malayalam language. Of the 108 Siva Temples, 105 temples are situated in Kerala state, 2 temples in Karnataka and 1 in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu.

List of temples