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| Oachira Temple | |
|---|---|
Oachira Parabrahma Temple | |
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Kollam |
| Deity | It has no deity or idol but is dedicated toParabrahma. Believed to be LordShiva. |
| Festivals | Oachirakali, Panthrandu Vilakku, Eruvathiyetam Onam |
| Location | |
| Location | Oachira |
| State | Kerala |
| Country | India |
  Location in Kerala | |
| Coordinates | 9°08′10″N76°30′37″E / 9.1360°N 76.5102°E /9.1360; 76.5102 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | It has no Sanctum Sanctorum.[1] |
| Creator | Velu Thampi Dalawa |
Oachira Temple is an ancient temple located inOachira inKollam district in theSouth Indian state ofKerala. According to thePuranas, this temple is one of the famous sacred places ofKerala andIndia.[2] Oachira is on the border of Kollam andAllappuzha districts, next to the National Highway 66. This temple is known "DakshinaKashi"(SouthaKashi).This very ancient pilgrimage center is centered on theParaBrahma temple (that is dedicated to thePara Brahman (or Param Brahman) or Ohmkaram, the UniversalConsciousness), and covers thirty-six acres of land.
Every year the Oachira Vrischikam Festival is celebrated during December and January.Oachirakali is a famous ritual performed here during June and it involves mock-fighting in muddy water by traditional martial art experts. And "Irupathattam onam" (28 days after Onam) is also celebrated. It is the festival of cattle. In this festival, huge "Eduppu kala" (gigantic idols of bull made of cloth&hay) are made. They are then pulled on giant wheels to the Oachira Temple from the site where they are made. Normally there are around 50 such structures. It is the biggest festival in"Onattu Kara", which is an area of a few square miles.Oachirakkali was actually a war exercise performed annually by soldiers ofKayamkulam Raja. Nearby, about 108 Kalaries were in 52 karas up to the beginning of the 20th century. Soldiers belonging to the above Karas met together at Oachira in theMalayalam month ofMithuna every year and performed war-like exercises. This is what is calledOachirakkali.
Ward and Conner, two British officials entrusted to survey ofTravancore in the beginning of the 19th century, made their observations about Oachira in their report. In the report it was made clear that there was a very old and damagedtemple on the eastern side of thePadanilam. It was also disclosed that there was a large reservoir at the center of the vast ground on which the temple stands, (which was now known as Kallukettuchira), and which is outside the temple compound today.
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There are many beliefs as to why this place is called Oachira. Some people believe that the place name came from the wordOmkarachira and some others believe that the name is originated from the nameOymanchira. Also there are strong beliefs that the name derived fromUvachanchira as Uvachan means LordSiva as per belief. All these assumptions are based on myths.
The real reason for arriving at the name of Oachira is possibly different. For that, we should understand the observations made by the two British officials, Ward and Conner, who conducted a survey in the erstwhile Travancore during the beginning of the 19th century. In their survey report, it was mentioned that there was a large reservoir at the center of the large ground called Padanilam. This reservoir (tank/pond/chira) was at the center of the Padanilam. This chira was used by the soldiers in olden days for bathing and for supplying water to the horses used in the war exercises. Thischira might have been known in olden days asOnattuchira, as the place belonged to theKayamkulam Raja who was also called theOdanattu Raja or simplyOnattu Rajah. The Headquarters of Kayamkulam Raja was at that time atKrishnapuram, very near to the Padanilam (which is hardly 1 km away from Oachira). So it is believed that the wordOnattuchira was gradually accepted as the place name and as time passed by further, that word was corrupted intoOachira. This is quite a plausible explanation as there are so many examples in known history about the transformation of place names.
The Oachira Temple is unique in the sense that it does not have covered structures for temples. People worship thePara Brahman (the original formless power lord shiva) under neatly preserved trees.
Malayalam filmPadamudra, directed byR. Sukumaran and starringMohanlal in the lead role, contains a reference to the beliefs of Ochira. The song 'Omkaramoorthy Ochirayil ' is very popular in this movie[3]
