The Architects of Thirunakkara Temple

The craftsmen who built the Thirunakkara Mahadeva Temple belonged to a family of sthapathis (master architects) of the Vishwakarma caste, who lived settled near the Swamiyar Madam. In the early twelfth century, as Chera rule came to an end, a number of sthapathis carrying the Chola sculptural tradition migrated from Thanjavur to Mahodayapuram. When Mahodayapuram (Kodungallur) was destroyed in the flood of AD 1341, one of these families arrived in Thekkumkur along with other groups of people. The Thekkumkur king, recognizing their equal skill in both stone and wood, granted them land to settle near the Swamiyar Madam. In time, they came to be known as the Madathinkal Sthapathis. The king appointed the eldest craftsman (Moothashari) of the Madathinkal family as the royal palace architect. This position — chief sculptor-architect of the Thekkumkur kingdom — also brought the family considerable standing in society at the time.

It is believed that both the Kottayam Thali temple and the new Thrikkovil temple were built by this family. Until the era when temples still had temporary flagstaffs, it was this family's responsibility to craft, in wood, the vehicle-figure (vahanam) mounted atop the flagstaff of every temple they had built. It was through this ritual that later generations recognized which temples belonged to their architectural lineage. For building the Thirunakkara temple as a grand shrine of exceptional craftsmanship, they were granted land stretching from the southern bank of Parasuraman Chira, on the northern slope of Thirunakkara Hill, all the way to Puthenangadi. This family lived there in later generations. They are also said to have built the Puthenangadi Kurishupally and the church at Puthuppally. It may be because of their Chola heritage that the carvings on the facade mandapam of Thirunakkara temple bear a resemblance to Chola sculptural style.

For generations, the sthapathis of this family bore the responsibility of maintaining the temple's physical structure — bathing and worshipping daily, inspecting every corner of the temple, replacing whatever had decayed over time, and carrying out necessary repairs. In return, the family received a fixed daily allotment of padachoru (temple rice offering) and a fixed annual quantity of paddy as their customary due. During Onam, the king himself would come to the temple in person and distribute due honors to all who were entitled — the Tantri, Shanti (priests), Kazhakam staff, musicians, and the Sthapathi among them.

Centuries later, another carpenter arrived from Ettumanoor and settled in Karappuzha. This man, cunning by nature, went to Thalikkotta and performed some craftwork that pleased the king of the time. Gradually winning the king's favor, he — with the king's tacit consent, and without the knowledge of the Madathinkal Sthapathi — entered the Thirunakkara temple and carried out some repair work. The Madathinkal Sthapathi learned of this only much later. In those days, the title of Sthapathi was the pride of any carpenter family — one that had to be upheld across generations. That another man had intruded upon their domain without their knowledge was intolerable. The enraged Madathinkal Sthapathi confronted the king over this. That year, during Onam, the king decreed that the customary Sthapathi honors would be given to the Karappuzha carpenter as well. This enraged the Madathinkal Sthapathi even further. The carpenter, entering Thaliyilkotta and reaching the Idathil Kovilakam, argued that it was unjust for the king to grant their hereditary right to someone else too.

The king's response was firm: "This time, he must be given his share. But your portion will not be diminished in the least." Realizing that the Karappuzha man had won the king over, the Madathinkal Sthapathi retorted sharply: "If he must be given something, let it be done at the palace steps. I will not permit it to be given inside the temple." Having fallen out with the king, the Sthapathi voiced his protest in strong terms and left.

So Onam arrived that year. On the appointed day, the king proceeded in state with his retinue to distribute the royal honors. After worshipping at the temple, the king gave paddy and other gifts to all who were entitled — the Tantri, Shanti, Kazhakam, musicians, and the Sthapathi. The same quantity of paddy given to the Madathinkal Sthapathi was also given to the other carpenter. Witnessing this with his own eyes, the Madathinkal Sthapathi could not bear it. He had already resolved on a drastic course of action. He knew well that this same scheming man had once been the cause of his friend Thekkedathu Ashari's suicide.

This is what had happened: the hereditary position of Sthapathi at the Parappadam Devi Temple in Veloor had belonged to Thekkedathu Ashari. The Karappuzha carpenter, by slandering Thekkedathu Ashari before the king, had seized that temple's Sthapathi position for himself. On learning of this, Thekkedathu Ashari — a devout worshipper of the goddess — came wailing to the temple, climbed onto the sacrificial stone (balikkallu), and cut his own heel with his chisel, bleeding to death in self-sacrifice. The memory of this event only deepened the Madathinkal Sthapathi's hatred for the Karappuzha carpenter.

Handing over his portion of the royal honors to his family members, the Madathinkal Sthapathi hurried out through the western gopuram and set off westward at a rapid pace. In those days, the route to Karappuzha required swimming across Ullattilkadavu, south of the Puthenangadi market. He fastened his sharp chisel securely to a wooden plank and hid among the screw-pine bushes at Ullattilkadavu, waiting for the Karappuzha carpenter to arrive. When the man came into view — carrying a basket of paddy on his head and a sack in his hand — the Madathinkal Sthapathi struck at his neck with the tool. His head was severed, and he died instantly.

Realizing that the king's wrath would now fall upon him, and that it was no longer safe to remain in the kingdom, the Sthapathi immediately informed his family and fled to Kaduthuruthy, the capital of Vadakkumkur, where he sought refuge with the Vadakkumkur king. The Thekkumkur king, enraged at the treacherous killing of his favored craftsman, stripped the Madathinkal family of their hereditary architectural rights, since he could not get hold of the Sthapathi himself. It was only during the reign of a later king that the senior craftsman of that family was said to have had the title of Sthapathi restored to them.