The exact name of the temple was Kizhakkekara Siva Kshethram. The main deity is none other than Lord Siva himself – Siva facing eastward. In fact Ganapathy is only a minor deity here. But the temple today is famous as a Ganapathy temple rather than a Siva temple.
The legend behind this is that Kizhakkekara temple was the property of two Nampoothiri houses – Akavoor and Oomanpally. Padinjattinkara Siva temple belonged to the royal house of Elayidathu.
Festivals
The Temple has a number of festivals. The important ones are :
Vinayaka Chathurthi
Vinayaka Chathurthi Lord Vinayaka’s birthday falls on the chathurthi day of the bright half of the Malayalam month ‘chingam’. This particular day is marked with great Mahaganapathy Homam, using 1008 coconuts. Besides Unniyappam, Modhakam is also offered to Ganapathy. The other major ceremonies includes Sarvaiswarya pooja, Gajapooja, Annadanam etc.
Medathiruvathira
This is the famous day of Thirvarattu. The large scale festival celebrations of eleven days come to an end on this day. Kettukazhcha is a major attraction of the day.
Contact Address: Kottarakara Ganapathy Temple, Kottarakkara, Kollam
