Ettumanoor Mahadevar Temple, Ancient Hindu temple in Kottayam district, India

Ettumanoor Mahadevar Temple is a Shiva shrine in Kottayam district, Kerala, with a gopuram and surrounding fortress rebuilt in 1542. Its tiered roofs are covered with copper sheets and carry 14 ornamental tops. Dravidian murals cover the walls inside and outside the main entrance, including the Pradosha Nritham fresco of Shiva. A golden flagstaff topped with a bull, small bells and metal banyan leaves stands inside.

The current structure dates from 1542, when local rulers renewed the earlier shrine with copper roofing and additional halls. Later expansions introduced the wall paintings and the carved tower that define its appearance today.

The eight golden elephants called Ezharaponnana — seven two feet tall and one half that size — are carved from jackfruit wood and plated with about 13 kg of gold. They are shown at midnight on the eighth day of the ten-day Kumbham festival, and on the arattu day four men carry them on their heads by torchlight. A 1972 film song, Ezharaponnana Purappedezhunnellum Ettumanoorappa, refers to this ritual.

Visitors can reach the shrine from the nearby Ettumanoor railway station or from Kottayam, with taxis and public buses running regularly. The main festival period from February to March brings larger crowds, so an early morning visit is quieter.

Devotees perform the Thulabharam ritual, offering items such as gold or fruits equal to their body weight on ceremonial scales. This offering is made in thanks for answered prayers or as a vow seeking divine blessing.