Temples of Kollam District

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Preface The monograph Temples of Kerala, which was released on February 24, 1999 AD by the President of India, covered the general aspects of temples in Kerala like history of temples over the last two thousand years, mode of worship, architectural features, carvings and paintings, iconography of idols, deva praśnam (astrological prediction on temples), rites, priesthood, offerings, temple customs and administration, ritualistic and performing arts etc. As an addendum to the monograph Temples of Kerala, twelve District monographs have been published viz. Temples of Kasaragod district, Temples of Kannoor district, Temples of Wayanad district, Temples of Közhikkode district, Temples of Malappuram district, Temples of Palakkat district, Temples of Trésor district, Temples of Ernakulam district, Temples of Ilukki district, Temples of Kottayam district, Temples of Alappuzha district and Temples of Pattanamtita district This monograph, Temples of Kollam district, is the thirteenth in the series of District monographs.

The background of taking up this exhaustive study on temples of Kerala needs little elaboration. The Census Organization of India undertook a study on temples of Madras State as an ancillary study of the 1961 Census. This study evoked keen interest among scholars, the Government and statutory bodies of Kerala. Late Shri R. Vasudeva Poduväl a renowned Archaeologist, requested the Registrar General, India (late Shri A. Chandrasekhar as early as 1969 to launch a study on temples of Kerala similar to the one that was conducted in Madras state and the latter readily agreed to this suggestion The study could not be taken up due to heavy pressure of work in connection with the 1971 Census.

In 1973, the Travancore Devaswam Board also came up with a similar request, but the backlog of census work of 1971 Census stood in the way in launching the study. In 1979, Shri A. Appukuttan Näir, Advisor to the Government of Kerala on Temples and Traditional Arts again requested the Director of Census Operations to commence the study. Some unforeseen circumstances prevented the organization from taking up the study at that time. However, in May 1990, the Government of Kerala again requested tho Census Directorate to take up a detailed survey on temples of Kerala and the then Registrar General (Shri AR Nanda (AS) directed the Census Directorate, Kerala to commence the survey in June 1991 and the project was entrusted to the author of this monograph For this study a schedule designed by the author was finalized in consultation with fanttis and ps and Dr K P taman dormer Deputy Registrar General, India). It was finally approved by Shri AR Nanda, IAS (former Registrar General, India).

The Initial decision was to collect data on temples by mailing the schedules to temple authorities of statutory bodies and by deputing trained field staff to temples exclusively managed by private individuals and institutions. This procedure did not work well as the response from the statutory bodies were defective and discouraging, as the filled-in schedules given by them had both content and coverage errors. Therefore, in March 1992, a small team of trained staff of the Directorate of Census Operations, Kerala took up the field-study and completed it in 1999 AD The survey covered all temples, which are open to public, irrespective of whether they belong to statutory bodies, private institutions, families or individuals.

Foreword Temples form an integral part of life of a Hindu. A temple dedicated to a deity is not only a product of technical knowledge of the building but also metaphysical and theological concepts of artistic and literary, religious practices and attitude prevalent at a particular time. The intricate architectural design and the inscriptions within the temple express many facets of the religion, ideas about the deities, and the abode of them on earth in the form of temples. The inscriptions attractive and their tantric background are indeed the best source for the correct understanding of a Hindu temple.

In view of the above relevance and to understand the various facets of temples, the study on "Temples of Kerala" has been undertaken. The present volume of "Temples of Kollam District is the 13 publication in the District series of "Study of Temples". This monograph contains details of 961 temples and write-up on 97 important temples, in addition to attractive photographs.

The present report is the outcome of the concerted efforts of Shri Jayashanker, retired Deputy Director of Census Operations, Kerala The present work meticulously completed by him reveals his basic understanding of the intimacy of the various facets of the Indian temples. It is expected that the voluminous details presented in the current report will definitely fulfil the purpose and the aim of which the study is undertaken.

The efforts made by the author will definitely go a long way to enrich the already existing literature on religious places in India and will be handy in this direction. I do hope that this work will be received by the readers as well as by the research scholars alike.

**Contents and Sample Pages**