Thrikkariyoor Mahadeva Temple

Thrikkariyoor Mahadeva Temple stands in Kothamangalam, Ernakulam district, on the north bank of the Kothayar, a tributary of the Muvattupuzha river. It is believed to belong to Kerala's 108 Shiva temples, the last of them that Parashurama installed. Thrikkariyoor, also called Karuvoor, is believed to have been the seat of the early Chera kings and is rich in legend and old records.

The east-facing temple occupies a compound of about four acres, with towers on the east and west. Through the eastern tower lies a large anakottil, an old flagmast of teak sheathed in copper, and a balikkal mandapam whose wooden ceiling is carved with the guardians of the eight directions and Brahma. The whole temple faces a big pond before the eastern tower, entered through a pavilion called the Eswara Seva Kottaram. The two-storey sanctum, rectangular and roofed in copper, is one of the large rectangular sreekovils of Kerala and is decorated with murals and wood carving.