Thrithala

Thrithala is a village in Ottappalam taluk in Palakkad District of Kerala state, south India. The village is located along the banks of Bharathapuzha and is famed for its Shiva temple.

The legend of 'Parayi petta panthirukulam' is centred around Trithala. According to this story, a brahmin named Vararuchi, married a lower caste woman without knowing her true identity. After the marriage, they set out on a long journey. During the course of the journey, the woman became pregnant several times, and every time she delivered a baby, the husband asked her to leave it there itself. Each of the babies was taken up by people of different castes (totally 12), thus they grew up in that caste, making the legendary 'Panthirukulam'. They all became famous in their lives and many tales are attributed to them. The eldest was Agnihothri, a brahmin, whose place is Mezhathur in Trithala. The others are Pakkanar (basket weaver), Perumthachan (Master capenter), Naranathu Bhranthan (an eccentric but divine person), Vayillakunnilappan (a child without mouth, whom the mother wanted to keep with her) and so on. Their stories are mentioned in the well known book 'Eithihyamala' by Kottarathil Sankunni.

The Siva temple, probably built during the 9th and 10th century, marks the transition from the Chola to the Pandya style of architecture. According to a legend, the child Agnihotri was bathing in the river along with his mother. He heaped the sand in the form of a mound on a plate ('thalam' in Malayalam). When the mother tried to remove the sand, she found that it has solidified in the form of a 'Siva Lingam'. Thus the deity is known as 'Thalathilappan', meaning God in a plate. The idol is said to have the constitution of sand. It is believed that the sharp bend in the river in the area was formed due to the river changing its course on its own, to give space for the temple to be built.

During the Indian Independence Movement, Thrithala hosted one of the revolutionary leaders of the Praja Socialist Party, Dr. K.B.Menon, who believed in armed struggle against the British as opposed to the Satyagraha model of Mahatma Gandhi. Along with Dr.P.T.Gopalan Nayar, a renowned doctor in the area, he worked extensively in the area, including setting up the first high school and the Primary Health Centre.

The population consists of mainly Muslims and Hindus. A large number of people are employed in the Arab countries, who have made the area prosperous by their remittances from abroad.

Trithala is well known for the excellent traditional Ayurvedic treatment. The Vaidyamadhom Hospital, situated at Mezhathur, Another hospital is CNS Ayurveda Chikitsalayam, which specializes in the treatment of children and is the world's first ISO 9001:2000 Certified ayurveda pediatric Hospital

Hospital facilities consist of an excellent PHC and a Dental clinic (National Dental Clinic)on Kootnad Road.

Even though Trithala is a part of Palakkad district, people prefer to go to Trissur town for their purchases due to its nearness compared to Palakkad town.

Water for the needs of Guruvayur Municipality and the nearby panchayats of Trissur district is pumped from Trithala. There is a big pumping station at Trithala with a storage tank at Kootanad.

The "Paakkanaar Memorial" built in honour of a Pariah saint, stands near "Thrithala-Kuttippuram Road".

Thrithala is also the native place of renowned writer and social reformer, V. T. Bhattathiripad.

"MT Vasudevan Nair" The great writer born in Kudallur. very near to Trithala village and in Trithala Block.

Now Trithala is famous for Velliamkallu paalam inaugurated on 2 September 2007 by V.S Achuthananthan.Now the name Thrithala High School has been changed as Dr K.B.Menon Memmorial High School
* [http://www.namboothiri.com/articles/agnihothri.htm Story about 'Parayi petta panthirukulam']
* [http://www.keralafolklore.com Stories about Pakkanar]