Parassinikadavu Muthappan Temple

History

Kerala Tourism profiles Parassinikadavu Muthappan as a living folk-deity shrine where daily offerings include fish and toddy per longstanding custom.

The riverside setting and Theyyam traditions make it a signature stop on Kannur spiritual itineraries.

Stories

The Boy Floating in a Basket of Flowers

One version of the legend tells of a childless chieftain's wife, an ardent devotee of Shiva, who found a baby floating in a basket of flowers while returning from a bath in the river. She took the child as Shiva's blessing.

The boy grew up as a helper of the poor, but took to hunting and eating meat, which his family disapproved of. When he decided to leave, he revealed his divine form to his mother, who asked him to cover his eyes with a shield so that his fiery gaze would not harm the world.

Worship Through Theyyam, with Fish and Toddy

The temple on the Valapattanam river in Kannur does not follow the usual Brahmin form of Kerala temple worship. Its main rite is the enactment of Muthappan as Theyyam, in two forms called Vellattam and Thiruvappana, performed in the early morning and in the evening.

Fish, meat and toddy are the customary offerings. Dogs are held sacred here, as the legend says a dog followed Muthappan on his travels, and stone dogs flank the entrance.

Three Days of Thiruvappana

The temple's major festival, the Muthappan Thiruvappana Mahotsavam, is held for three days each year on 19, 20 and 21 of the Malayalam month Kumbham, which fall around 3 to 5 March. Another Thiruvappana, the Puthari festival on 16 Vrischikam, around 1 or 2 December, is the first of the temple year and is linked with the local harvest.

Good to know

Muthappan shrine on the Valapattanam — Kerala Tourism listed

Theyyam and folk-offering traditions

Malabar Devaswom administered

Getting there

Nearest airport: Kannur International Airport (CNN) / Calicut (CCJ). Parassinikadavu is a short drive from Kannur town.