Thirunakkara
# Thirunakkara

Coordinates: 9°35′26″N 76°31′11″E﻿ / ﻿9.590616°N 76.51970°E﻿ / 9.590616; 76.51970

Thirunakkara (Malayalam: തിരുനക്കര, romanized: tirunakkara) is a locality of Kottayam city in Kerala, India. It is best known for Thirunakkara Sree Mahadevar Temple, dedicated to Shiva. The temple hosts an annual ten-day festival ending with the aaraattu ritual of dipping an idol of a deity into a river or temple tank, which includes a procession of nine decorated elephants. The festival is a celebration of Shiva's wedding to Parvati and is dedicated to Shiva. During the festival, traditional Keralan dances such as Mayilattom and Velakali are performed within the temple premises in the evening. Another major attraction is the Kathakali performances during the festival.

