Kandiyoor Sree Mahadeva Temple

Kandiyoor Sree Mahadeva Temple stands on the Achankovil river at Kandiyoor near Mavelikkara, once the capital of the Odanadu kingdom. An inscription of 823, in the reign of Rajasekhara Varman, records its founding, making it the earliest temple with an epigraph about its origin, and an era called Kandiyoorabdam was reckoned from it until the Kollam era replaced it. A record of 1218 notes a rebuilding by Rama Kotha Varma of Odanad. Tradition says the defeated Kayamkulam Raja surrendered his sword here and left by the back door, which has stayed closed for centuries.

The east-facing deity, Kandiyoorappan, is believed to be Shiva as Kirathamoorthy, worshipped as Dakshinamoorthy in the morning and Umamaheshwara at noon. The two-tiered sanctum is oval below and rectangular above, with a platform in front for devotees in the Hoysala manner, and a 10-foot wall in the Gajaprishta style is said to have been built by Shiva's attendants.