Pampady Pampumkavu Temple

Pampady Pampumkavu Temple is a popular shrine dedicated to Nagaraja in Kerala. Serpents are worshipped here from the time of Parashuram. The shrine is dedicated to Shiva and Nagas. This important center of snake worship in Kerala is located at Pampady near Thiruvilwamala in Thrissur District, Kerala.

Pampadi means ‘dancing snakes’ and the origin of Sree Nagaraja of Pampumkavu is associated with Parashurama Avatar of Bhagavan Vishnu.There are no murtis in the shrine. Shiva and Nagas are worshipped here in the form of a termite mound.

Legend
Legend has it that when Parashurama created Kerala from the sea, there were thousands of snakes roaming on the newly created land. People were scared to reside in the land. Parashurama prayed to Shiva for a solution.Shiva asked Parashurama to offer prayers to Vasuki who is the Nagaraja.

He then performed intense austerities to please Vasuki. Finally, he appeared before Parashurama.Parashurama told him that his people could not reside in the land as it was filled with poisonous snakes.

Vasuki then asked Parashurama to designate a place for snakes in the new land. The place that was suggested was Pampady. A sage used to perform prayers to Shiva and therefore the place already had the presence of Shiva.Shiva then asked the sage to offer equal prayers to him and the nagas. The sage did as told by Lord Shiva and the nagas started residing here happily. Nagaraja and Naga Kanyaka are worshipped here in the form of termite mounds.

While this is a temple dedicated to the Serpent god, the Navaratri celebrations here are famous all over Kerala. Children from all over Kerala participate in the Vidyarambam ceremony performed here on Vijayadashami. It is believed that children who are initiated into learning in the holy presence of Nagaraja will be blessed with exceptional creative and writing skills.

Students who visit the temple on Vijayadashami for Darshan are given ‘Mahasaraswatha Khrutham’ ghee. Once the ghee is prepared, the priest will recite the special Vidya Gopala Mantra and then offer it to Naga Raja. This ghee is then offered to children to improve their intellectual skills. Here the Vidyarambam ceremony is performed by well-known writers and cultural leaders.

Special pujas are performed on Vijayadashami and they start with the Vidya Ganapathi Homam (a special puja involving fire performed with the objective of winning the blessings of Lord Ganesha, the God of wisdom).