Omalloor Rakthakantaswamy Temple

Overview

The temple of Rakthakantaswamy also known as Omalloor Ambalam is situated in Omalloor, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala. It is one of the many pilgrim centres on the way to Sabarimala from Pandalam, the place of birth of Sree Ayyappan. In olden days, the place was known as Nallur It was after the arrival of Lord Omkaramoorthy (Infinite Almighty) that the name was changed as Om Nallur which was later altered as Omalloor.

About The Temple

The temple traces back to 8th century AD. The Golden Flag Staff that is currently seen in the temple today was erected in the year 1952 AD. Omalloor shrine has numerous remarkable stone carvings. Kallunadasvaram (Stone Nadasvaram) and Kalchangala (chain made by stone) are two among them. The temple is under the managerial control of the Travancore Devaswom Board.

About The Deity

Omkaramoorthy (Parabrahma-Infinite God) is the chief deity. The stone idol represents no image. But pooja (worship) is performed on the sankalpa (concept) that the deity is Lord Sastha. Lord Siva, Goddess Bhagavathi, Lord Ganapathy, Saptha Mathas (Seven holy mothers – Brahmini, Maheswari, Kaumari, yshnavi, Varahi, Indrani, and Chamunda), Nagaraja, Naga Yakshi are the parivara deities.

Legend and Stories

The legend behind the establishment of the temple is as follows: Once Lord Brahma and Lord Maha Vishnu decided to find out the source and end of Sivalinga. Lord Brahma took the form of a swan and travelled upwards and Lord Maha Vishnu, as varaha, downwards. Even after many years of flight they could not reach their endpoints. Lord Brahma however claimed that he had reached the top and produced a flower of screw pine as proof. Recognizing that Lord Brahma was not telling the truth, Lord Siva removed one of his heads. Lord Vishnu gathered the slashed head without letting it fall on the earth and consecrated it at Kallalil, a village to Omalloor. Many years later a competition was held at Kallalil village by two rival groups. The routed group took the statue and tossed it into the Achankovil River. The life-force of the statue took the form of a flower and a boy who was taking bath in the river with his mother caught hold of it. Then the Lord shown Himself before them and told to build a temple there for him.

Festivals

The temple is well-known for its yearly festival of 10 days in month of Medom of Malayalam Era. The 10 days festival is celebrated by 10 Karayogams (village communities) in and around Omalloor. On the festival days there is a customary Arattu march to the River Achenkovil more than 10 elephants decorated with Nettipattom (adorned on the forehead) will be the speciality of this Arattu.

How to Reach Omalloor Rakthakantaswamy Temple

Airport

The nearest airport is Trivandrum International Airport.

Railways

The nearest railway station is Chengannur Railway Station.

Road

The nearest bus stop is Omalloor Temple Bus Stop. Bus services are available to reach Omalloor from Pathanamthitta.

Temple Address

Omalloor Rakthakantaswamy Temple,
Omalloor, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala,
India, Pincode – 689647.