I saw this temple on the way from Trivandrum to Kovalam. This is the first time I came across a temple dedicated to Parasurama. This is an interesting small temple. One of the smaller sub temples within the main one had a fish as the god. I had not seen a fish before as a deity. It could be the deity representing the first avatar of Vishnu, Matsya avatar that rescued the Veda, plants and animals. When I walked around the temple, I noticed there were a lot of soap boxes tied with a string and hanging from the ceiling. I guess the soap boxes contain written prayers or wishes to be fulfilled by Parasurama.
Parasurama, is the axe wielding sixth avatar of Vishnu. Although he is an avatar of Vishnu, he is not worshiped like Rama or Krishna. I guess Kerala would be an exception. According to Kerala legends, he is the creator of Kerala and Kalaripayattu. He created Kerala by throwing his axe into the ocean from Gokarnam to Kanyakumari. The water receded up to the spot where it fell. This new land is said to be Kerala or Parasuramakshetram.
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It might be interesting and small, but it is also one of the most famous and revered temples in Kerala, besides being the only temple dedicated to Parasurama Swami in the entire country. The temple dates back almost a 1000 years, some say even 2000, and the architecture of the temple presents many interesting fusion elements of the native Dravidian and foreign influences. To the trained eye, there is much to see and admire here, and to the faithful none of that matters. What one does not want to see is such an ancient and important cultural edifice being damned by faint praise.
The soap boxes contain prayers and incantations for the souls of people who have died unnatural and violent deaths – suicides, accident and murder victims, and so on. The term in Malayalam is “durmaranam” – a combination of the negative prefix “dur” and “maranam” meaning death. It is a macabre sight, and a chilling one. Next time you go in there, perhaps you could take some time to reflect on each of the soap boxes. Each represents a person who died before his time.
We ain’t in Kansas any more, and this ain’t the tooth fairy.
My previous comment was perhaps a bit harsh. For those who have not seen the temple, there is no way for a visitor who does not know the language to tell what the purpose of the soap boxes is, and the writer’s conclusion of them being wish boxes is quite justified. Curiosity is better than apathy, always. My apologies.
In any case, the Kerala psyche has an unhealthy obsession with death – as shown in the suicide rate in the state which is 3 times the national average. All ancient cultures suffer this problem to a greater or lesser extent. If there isn’t continuous renewal and revitalization, there is a tendency to slip into an unhealthy amount of inward focus and navel-gazing. Eventually it is self-destroying, like a shark feeding on its own entrails. As Neitzsche put it – “If you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”