Vaikom Siva Temple Festival - 11th Day

Vaikom Mahadeva Temple is situated at Vaikom Town, Kottayam District in Kerala.

#Vaikom #Mahadeva #Temple is an ancient temple in Kerala dedicated to #lord Shiva. The temple is popular for its annual #Vaikathashtami #festival.
It is believed that #Lord Shiva along with Goddess Parvati appeared in front of saint #Vyakrapada maharshi in the day of Krishna Ashtami in the Malayalam month of Vrishchikam (November – December). So, as a memory of this, Vaikathashtami is celebrated. It is the festival extending for 12 days. 12th day is #vaikkathashtami.
So many spiritual and tantric functions are conducting related to this festival. In every day of the festival is marked by a grand procession carrying the thidambu (replica of the presiding deity) on top of famous #elephants. The procession is the most attractive part of this festival. During this time you can enjoy the play of natural instrument musics like #nagaswara,#chenda, #thavil, #edakka, #madhalam etc
Another highlight of the day is the arrival of Lord Murga (Subrahmanya) from the nearby Udayanapuram Subrahamanya Temple. The father (Shiva) and son (Muruga) meet in the temple premises and bids farewell after a short meeting. This annual ritual attracts thousands of devotees.
The festival days, especially the eighth and ninth days, are noted for cultural programmes including #Kathakali, #Chakyarkoothu ,#ottanthullal, #thiruvathira , #vocal and #instrumental Music etc