Vaikom Mahadeva Temple Festival - #vaikkathashtami - 12 th Day. #templefest, #temple, #sivatemple

Vaikom Mahadeva Temple is situated at Vaikom Town, Kottayam District in Kerala. #Vaikom #Mahadeva #Temple is an ancient #temple in #Kerala dedicated to #lord #Shiva. The temple is popular for its annual #Vaikathashtami #festival. It is believed that #Lord Shiva along with Goddess Parvati appeared in front of saint #Vyakrapada maharshi in the day of Krishna Ashtami in the Malayalam month of Vrishchikam (November – December). So, as a memory of this, Vaikathashtami is celebrated. It is the festival extending for 12 days. 12th day is #vaikkathashtami. So many spiritual and tantric functions are conducting related to this festival. In every day of the festival is marked by a grand procession carrying the thidambu (replica of the presiding deity) on top of famous #elephants. The procession is the most attractive part of this festival. During this time you can enjoy the play of natural instrument musics like #nagaswara,#chenda, #thavil, #edakka, #madhalam etc Another highlight of the day is the arrival of #Lord #Murga (#Subrahmanya) from the nearby Udayanapuram Subrahamanya Temple. The father (Shiva) and son (Muruga) meet in the temple premises and bids farewell after a short meeting. This annual ritual attracts thousands of devotees. The festival days, especially the eighth and ninth days, are noted for cultural programmes including #Kathakali, #Chakyarkoothu ,#ottanthullal, #thiruvathira , #vocal and #instrumental Music etc