Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple of Kerala : Temple Architecture

Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple of Kerala : Temple Architecture

Question: India has recently won the UNESCO Prize Award of Excellence for the conservation of the Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple of Kerala in the category of UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Examine the temple architecture of this award winning monument.

- Award of Excellence for conserving Sree Vaddakkunnathan Temple in Kerala’s Thrissur is a recognition accorded to the massive conservation efforts for preserving this ancient temple.

- Built by Parashuram, thought to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, this temple is a sacred site dating back to generations

- This ancient temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva

- It is an instance of the classic architectural style of Kerala

- It also has monumental towers on each of the 4 sides and there is a temple theatre called a kuttambalam

- The temple has mural paintings which depict episodes from Mahabharata

- Vignettes carved in wood are displayed on the towers and shrines

- Temple was declared as a an National Monument under the AMASR Act 1958

- The Vasukishayana and Nrithanatha murals in the temple are worshipped every day

- The temple also contains ancient art pieces, wall paintings and wood carvings

- Temple theatre is used for staging ancient ritualistic art forms of Central Kerala such as Koodiyattam, Koothu and Nangyar Koothu.

Facts and Stats

- UNESCO Asia Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation were established in 2000 to encourage PPP model in conservation of cultural heritage

- Since its inception, UNESCO has received close to 562 entries from 24 nations

- A maximum of 174 projects have received the conservation award till now