Sasthamangalam Mahadevar Temple

Sasthamangalam Mahadevar Temple stands on a hilltop in the Sasthamangalam area of Thiruvananthapuram, set apart from the city centre for the sake of quiet worship. Records show it to be more than 700 years old, the Travancore kings came here regularly, and it is run by the Travancore Devaswom Board. Legend says the rock on which a grass-cutter whetted her knife began to bleed; the rock proved to be a Shiva lingam, and the temple grew up around it.

Shiva is worshipped as Uma Maheshwara. There is no image of Parvati, but an old poem recited here holds that she is present. Ganapathi, Murugan and Dharma Sastha are sub-deities, and Bhadrakali, Veerabhadra, Nagaraja and Nagayakshi are installed outside the compound by the Killi river. Unusually for a Shiva temple, devotees may walk all the way round the sanctum. The ten-day festival begins on Thiruvathira in Dhanu (December to January) and ends with Aarattu.