Azhimala Shiva Temple, Thiruvananthapuram

The Aazhimala Shiva temple is a hindu temple located on the seaside of the Arabian Sea near Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. This temple is dedicated to lord Shiva and is known for the 58 ft tall Gangadhareswara sculpture which is the Kerala's tallest Shiva sculpture. The temple is built in TamilNadu architectural style and is organized by the Aazhimala Shiva Temple Devaswom Trust.

The trust organizes the annual festival and makes important decisions regarding temple administration. The architectural style is similar to the temples of Tamil Nadu. The boundary wall and gopura are decorated by sculptures of different Hindu  deities like Ganesha, Ayyappan, Vishnu, Kartikeya and Hanuman. The main shrine and the sub shrines showcase rich carvings, murals(ancient paintings) and decorations.

Significance

Inside the temple, there is an 58 ft tall concrete(cement & brick) sculpture of lord Shiva in the form of Gangadhareshwara. It was created by P.S. Devadathan who is a resident of Aazhimala. Its construction was started in 2 April 2014 and was completed & opened to public on 31 December 2020.  It is currently the tallest Gangadhareshwara sculpture in India and the tallest Shiva sculpture in Kerala.

The sculpture represents a four-armed Shiva in a seating posture. The upper right hand holds a damaruka, the lower right hand is on the right thigh, the upper left hand holds a trishula and the lower left hand is raised near the hair which holds the river goddess Ganga.

How To Reach

Kovalam bus stand is the nearest stop from the temple with a distance of around 8.6 KM. You can take a local Ordinary buses that run frequently in this route and the first bus is at 6:30 AM to reach Aazhimala. Alternatively, you can also take a direct bus from Trivandrum bus stand to reach Aazhimala.