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Cherpu

Archaeological sites in KeralaUse Indian English from May 2018Villages in Thrissur district
Vinay Sankar the elephant
Vinay Sankar the elephant

Cherpu is a suburb of Thrissur city in the Kerala State of South India. It is 12 kilometres south of Thrissur town and is on the Thriprayar road. It is dotted by a number of temples and has quite a few rivers flowing by its vicinity. The village occupies a prominent place in the Kerala's cultural map as Cherpu is one of the main venues of the state's classical percussion ensembles like chenda melam and panchavadyam, staged as they are during temple festivals called pooram. Naturally, Cherpu is the birthplace of many leading (as well as lesser known) practitioners of ethnic Kerala instruments like chenda, ilathalam, kombu, kuzhal, timila, maddalam and edakka. Cherpu has two major poorams—Peruvanam Pooram and Arattupuzha Pooram. Peruvanam, otherwise traditionally known as one of the leading Namboodiri villages of Kerala, has today many of its people employed in the manufacture of furniture and gold ornaments. Legend has it that Peruvanam village was one of the settlements created by sage Parashuram, the mythical creator of Kerala. The name Cherpu means cherunnidam (joining place) in Malayalam. Cherpu was a central place for Mahatma Gandhi's village renaissance. It was known as "Vardha" at the time of the Kochi kingdom. As for its temples, Cherpu has the grand-structured Peruvanam temple besides the ones called Arattupuzha, Urakam and Thiruvullakkavu. Thiruvullakkavu temple is famous for initiating children to the world of letters on Vidyarambham, an auspicious day in Hindu tradition. For long, Cherpu had paddy fields that spread as far as Triprayar. The west and east sides of Cherpu were marked by rocks. Cherpu is located in between this rock- and water-covered area. Hence the name Cherpu or cherunnidam (joining place).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Cherpu (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Cherpu
Cherpu Temple Road, Thrissur

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Latitude Longitude
N 10.43129 ° E 76.19902 °
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Cherpu Temple Road

Cherpu Temple Road
680561 Thrissur
Kerala, India
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Vinay Sankar the elephant
Vinay Sankar the elephant
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Thiruvullakkavu Sree Dharma Sastha Temple

The Thuiruvullakkavu Sree Dharma Sastha Temple is a Hindu temple located in Cherpu of Thrissur district of Kerala. The deity is Lord Dharma Shastha in standing posture with arch and a bow. An enchanting shrine in the midst of a dense forest, a gusher of beneficent spirit-that was the temple of Thiruvullakkavu, centuries back. Lord Sastha, the presiding deity, as the divine protector of the whole village settlement, showered benediction on a cultured rave. He rode the boundaries of the settlement on His white charger; the pure, microcosmic soul. Full of devotion, the people reveled in the ineffable tenderness of Sastha. A peaceful refuge for the troubled soul that was Thiruvullakkavu. Kavu is a throbbing beehive of spiritual activities today. Thousands bring their children to this well constructed temple for the initiation into the excitement of knowledge. A child which starts on the alphabets at Kavu is sure to become a scholar, the devotees believe. An unending stream of devotees flow to this temple on Vijaya Dasami, the most auspicious morning of the year for those who seek academic excellence. Kavu is unique, Lord Sasta, the Thanthric texts assert, is a fiery deity, the divine Hunter who destroys the sinners and protects the virtuous. He is the personification of fierce, protective Love. But at Thiruvullakkavu, He blesses His children with enough wits to earn prosperity to the point of satiety. Later, they become wise enough to renounce it and seek the path of bliss. Verily, Thiruvullakkavu is THE ABODE OF WISDOM.

Peruvanam Pooram
Peruvanam Pooram

Peruvanam Pooram is one of the most popular temple festivals of the South Indian state of Kerala. It is held at Peruvanam Temple in Cherpu, Thrissur District. Lord Shiva is the presiding deity of this temple.The deity of the Peruvanam Mahadeva Temple does not participate in the pooram, and is a silent spectator to the proceedings, just like Thrissur Vadakkumnathan. The participation is limited to temples with Devi and Sastha as the primary deities. It is said that the festival used to witness participation from 108 temples. Presently, the festivities consist of processions (called "Ezhunnallippu") from about 23 temples. As per records at the Peruvanam Mahadeva Temple (Granthavali), the year 2016 witnessed the 1434th edition of the pooram, in its present form. The pooram occupies an important place in the cultural fabric and history of the state of Kerala. The Peruvanam pooram is known for its grandeur, and its strict adherence to rituals. The Pandi and Panchari melams played here are of the highest standards. The Panchari melams of Urakam Devi temple and the Cherpu Bhagavathy Temple, are amongst the finest performed, with the latter being the more famous. The Peruvanam Nadavazhi (Malayalam for "Walkway") is the venue for the finest processions/melams, the construction of which is in such a manner that it forms a natural theater for the percussion performances. The Peruvanam Nadavazhi is considered a sacred theatre for Melams by discerning listeners. Present day festivals in Kerala witness mass participation from all strata of the society. Much of this phenomenon, can be attributed to the Peruvanam Pooram, which has played a major role in developing the cultural fabric of Kerala. The Peruvanam pooram boasts of a rich history, and can perhaps be the oldest organised ritualistic festival existing on the planet.