Thiruvullakkavu Sree Dharma Sastha Temple

Thiruvullakkavu Sree Dharma Sastha Temple is at Cherpu in Thrissur district, Kerala. Its deity, Dharma Sastha, stands holding a bow and arrow. Tradition remembers the shrine as once lying deep in forest, with Sastha seen as protector of the whole village who rode its boundaries on a white horse.

Today the temple is a busy centre for the start of learning. Thousands of families bring their children here to be initiated into the alphabet, in the belief that a child who begins letters at the kavu will become a scholar, and the biggest crowds come on the morning of Vijayadashami. Although Tantric texts describe Sastha as a fierce hunter who destroys sinners, here he is worshipped as a giver of wisdom.