Kulathupuzha Sastha Temple

Kulathupuzha Sastha Temple
Kulathupuzha Sastha temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Kollam
Deity	Balasastha
Festivals	Thiruulsavam in Medam, Vishu mahotsavam
Governing body	Travancore Devaswom Board
Location
Location	Kulathupuzha
State	Kerala
Country	India
Location in Kerala
Geographic coordinates	8°54′30″N 77°03′20″E / 8.9082295°N 77.055501°E / 8.9082295; 77.0555018°54′30″N 77°03′20″E / 8.9082295°N 77.055501°E / 8.9082295; 77.055501
Architecture
Type	Traditional Kerala style

Kulathupuzha Sastha Temple is a Hindu temple located on the banks of Kulathupuzha river, a tributary of Kallada River.^[1][2] It is located in Kulathupuzha in Punalur taluk of Kollam district in the Indian state of Kerala. The presiding deity there is Lord Ayyappa in the form of Balasastha.^[3] It is also one among the pancha sastha shrines and one of the 108 Sastha shrines in Kerala. The idol there is believed to be installed by Lord Parashurama, and is made up of eight pieces of stones. The temple is constructed as per Kerala style of Temple Architecture.

Deity[]

Lord Ayyappa is the principal deity. He is in the form of Balasastha (child form of Ayyappa) and commonly known as 'Kulathupuzha Balakan'.^[4] There is a popular song titled 'Kulathupuzhayile Balakane' praising the deity of this temple, along with the deities of , Aryankavu, , and Sabarimala temples.

Location of temple[]

The temple is located by the shores of Kallada River within Kulathupuzha Reserve Forest range at the east part of Kollam district.^[5] The Hill Highway that pass through Kulathupuzha connects temple with Punalur, Anchal and Kollam. The State Highway 2 that passes through Kulathupuzha connects the temple with National Highway 744, Thiruvananthapuram district and Tenkasi district.

The nearest railway station is at Thenmala in Kollam–Sengottai Line, approximately 10 km (6.2 mi).^[6]

The nearest airport is Trivandrum International Airport. (65 kms)

Subordinate deities[]

The deity here is in a fierce mood (ugramūrti) as well as in auspicious mood (mangalapradāyakan). Shiva, Yakshi, Vishnu, Ganapathi, Boothathan, Nagar, and Karuppaswami are the other subordinate deities in the temple.^[7][1]

Legend[]

Legend has it that the temple was founded by Pandalam raja, but the idol of Sastha was founded by a Brahmin from Kottarakkara. Earlier, the temple was under the possession of Kottarakkara raja. Later it was handed over to Travancore devaswom board. The tantric rights of the temple are held by Kokkalathu mutt.^[8]

Thirumakkal of Ayyappa[]

The temple pond preserves a number of fishes, as they are considered to the favorite ones of Lord Ayyappa. Devotees offer Meenoottu vazhipadu for healing the warts in the skin.^[9] Devotees are concerned about protecting the fishes in this pond. They are known as the Thirumakkal (transl. Holy children) of Lord Ayyappa. Most of this fishes are belonging to species Tor khudree and Hypselobarbus thomassi that are having threat of extinction.^[10] Fishing is also strictly prohibited here.^[7]

References[]