Subrahmanya Swamy who accepts salt; temple in Kerala which does not need expensive offerings as prayer

KOCHI: No need to pay at the counter and get a receipt, no need for pricy offerings. There is a deity who will be pleased if devotees offer a handful of rock salt and pray. Mannam Sree Subrahmanya Swamy in North Paravur. Rock salt is the main offering in the temple. It is believed that those suffering from warts, unhealed scars and other skin diseases will get cured if they offer salt and pray. This is the only temple in Kerala where rock salt is the main offering. The main festivals are Thaipuyam and Maha Kanda Sashti. The temple mandapam will be filled with loads of salt during the festival.

Balamurugan left Kailash after getting into a fight with Parvaty Parameswaran over the sharing of the fruit gifted to Mahadev by Narada Maharshi. The legend of the temple is that Balamurugan, who fled, took refuge in the Mannam region. One and a half kilometers from here is the centuries-old Peruvaram Mahadeva Temple, where Shiva and Parvati are enshrined in a single shrine, facing each other. The main festival of the Mannam temple is the Thaipuyam in the month of Makaram, and in the Peruvaram temple, it is the Thiruvathira in the month of Medam.

On the ninth festival day (Valiyavilakku) of the Mahadeva temple, Balamurugan will come to see his father in a festive manner, accompanied by musical performances, Theyyam, Kavadi and Thalapoli. All the festival rituals that took place in the Peruvaram temple that year will be repeated on that day. The next day, Mahadeva, who is in procession with his son, will bathe in the Mannam temple pond with Subrahmanyan and the festival will come to an end. It is believed that the father and son will remain estranged until the next festival.

Devotees from faraway lands

No money is required for salt offerings. Devotees can visit the temple from 5 am to 11 am and from 5 pm to 7.30 pm to make offerings. The salt should be offered in the mandapam in front of the shrine. Temple officials said that many devotees come every day, even from faraway places, to offer salt.