Rajarajeshwara Temple, Hindu temple in Kannur district, India

Rajarajeshwara Temple is a Hindu temple in Taliparamba, Kannur district, India. Its quadrangular sanctum has a two-tiered pyramidal roof, and a namaskara mandapam stands in front of it. The temple has no kodi maram (flagstaff), unlike others in Kerala. The photograph shows a laterite-block wall with carved pilasters and a recessed niche.

The temple was rebuilt in its present form in the early eleventh century, and the Mushaka dynasty king Satasoman installed the Shiva Linga here on the advice of sage Agastya. In the late 1700s the Mysorean army attacked and partly destroyed it; it was repaired and reopened about a hundred years later. The main gopuram still stands in ruins.

The name Rajarajeshwara refers to Shiva as lord of kings. Unlike other Kerala Shiva temples, no koovalam leaves are used and no dhara or rudrabhisheka is performed; Wednesday is the special day. Devotees from across South India come to have a devaprasnam, an astrological consultation, held on a raised platform outside the temple wall.

Only Hindus may enter the temple; non-Hindu visitors can view the laterite outer wall and ruined main gopuram from outside. Devotees come to the raised platform outside the wall to have a devaprasnam conducted. The namaskara mandapam in front of the sanctum is closed to all worshippers.

The temple has no kodi maram, the flagstaff found at most Kerala temples, and its main gopuram still stands in ruins after the Mysorean raid of the late 1700s. Devotees come here from across South India to have a devaprasnam, an astrological consultation, held on a raised platform outside the temple wall.