Historical PlaceCave temple

Vizhinjam Cave Temple

Granite cave shrine at Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram, with unfinished reliefs of Shiva on its outer wall

Photo: Dr Ajay Balachandran · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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01 — The story

Vizhinjam Cave Temple is an ancient Hindu shrine at Vizhinjam, about 17 km from the centre of Thiruvananthapuram in southern Kerala. In the 8th century Vizhinjam was the seat of the Ay kings, rulers of southern Kerala.

Inside the granite cave is a one-room shrine holding a separate, unfixed image of Vinadhara Dakshinamurti, Shiva as teacher holding a vina. On the outer wall are unfinished reliefs: Shiva as Tripurantaka on the left, and Shiva as Nataraja with Parvati on the right.

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02 — About

Coming soon

We’re still writing about Vizhinjam Cave Temple: its history, what’s there and why it’s worth the trip.