Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

1805 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Modern · Hindu · India

Ezhava Siva, Aruvippuram

Aruvippuram, Kerala · 8.4247°, 77.0926°

ShivaModern
Sacred since
1888 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
1888 (Sree Narayana Guru)
Modern

History & significance

The Shiva installed at Aruvippuram in 1888 by the social reformer Sree Narayana Guru, who as a non-Brahmin of the Ezhava community was challenged over his right to consecrate a temple and answered that he had installed an 'Ezhava Siva'. The act became a landmark in Kerala's fight against caste exclusion from temples, and the Guru inscribed there his vision of a place where all live in brotherhood regardless of caste or religion.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Modern