Annamanada Mahadeva Temple is located at Annamanada in
Thrissur District. The presiding deity of the temple is
Lord Shiva. The
shivling is almost four feet tall and is considered as the Kiratamoorthy in a pleasing mood while giving Pashupatastra to Arjuna.
The temple faces to the east and the sanctum is square shaped. There is a low Valiabalikkal in front of the Agramandapam on the eastern side and a bali peetha equal in height of the basement of the
shrikovil. The sopana with carved hasti-hasta railings on either side provides access to the square Mukha Mandapam. The doors on the south and the west lead to the shrines of Lord Ganesh and Goddess Parvati respectively. The Mukha mandapam and the shrikovil have dvi-tala structure, which is covered with copper sheet. The
nalam
balam of the temple has two thidappallies. On the northern side of the nalambalam lays the shrine of Lord Vishnu. In the outer prakaram (outer courtyard) there is a tank and the oottupura in the north-east corner. The other deities of the temple are Shasta, Goshala Krishnan, Mahakali,
Nagaraja, Durga mounted on lion and Narasimha.
The annual festival is celebrated during February or March. The festival lasts for ten days and is observed with pomp and pageantry. The arattu on the concluding day of the annual festival is done in the Annamanada River.
The temple is 10 km south of Chalakudi on the Mala route and is about 5 km from Mala.
