“The sixth avatar of Maha Vishnu, Parasurama was the youngest child of the sage Jamadagni and Renuka. Legend has it that after giving the land to the Brahmins, 128 Maha Shiva Lingam and Durga statues were placed in each of the 64 villages. The Shivala Sotram and a Malayalam song both make mention of these one hundred and eight Shiva temples. [6] Of the 108 Shiva temples, 105 are located in Kerala, two in Karnataka, and one in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari District.
The son of Sage Jamadagni and Renuka, Lord Parasurama was the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Parasurama meditated at Gokarna and prayed to Lord Varuna as a sign of penitence for his Kshatriya Nigraha transgression (the Lord of the Oceans). He was asked for a boon by Parasurama. He desired to give some land to the Brahmins in order to atone for the crimes he had committed. He had already given Sage Kashyapa the entire land he had acquired in the 21-round Kshatriya Nigraha, thus none was still available. Parasurama was promised as much land as he desired by Lord Varuna. He told him to throw his axe, or Parasu, from where he was standing at Gokarna.Lord Varuna granted him a blessing by promising to give him the land between Gokarna and the spot where the axe fell. Kerala was created by the "axe" that was thrown from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The Brahmins were given this land by Parasurama, who also established 64 Brahmin settlements there.
In Kerala, 32 of the 64 villages are located in the Malayalam-speaking region (between Perumpuzha and Kanyakumari) and the remaining 32 are in the Tulu-speaking zone (between Gokarnam and Perumpuzha). In Kerala, those mentioned in the Keralopatti, a history of Kerala narrative, include:
1. Payyannoor 2. Perumchelloor (Talipparambu) 3. Alatthiyoor 4. Karanthol 5.Chokiram (Shukapuram) 6. Panniyoor 7. Karikkau 8. Isaanamangalam 9. Thrussivaperoor 10. Peruvanam. 11. Chamunda (Chemmanta) 12. Irungatikkootal (Iringalakkuda) 13. Avattiputhur (Avittathoor) 14. Paravoor 15. Airanikkulam 16. Muzhikkalam 17. Kuzhavur 18. Atavur 19. Chenganatu(Chengamanadu) 20. Ilibhyam 21. Uliyannoor 22. Kalutanatu. 23. Ettumanoor 24. Kumaranalloor 25. Kadamuri 26. Aranmula 27. Tiruvalla 28. Kidangoor 29.Chengannoor 30. Kaviyoor 31. Venmani and 32. Neermanna (Niranam)
In order to ensure the happiness and prosperity of the people of Kerala, Parasurama dedicated 108 Shiva temples and 108 Durga temples after the construction of these villages. Lord Shiva of the Gokarnam Mahabaleswara Temple in the north and Goddess Kumari of the Kanyakumari temple in the south were regarded as Kerala's protectors among these 216 temples. The Thrissivaperoor Vadakkunnatha Temple was Parasurama's first Shivalaya, while the Thrikkariyoor Mahadeva Temple was his last.
These temples' names can be found in the well-known 108 Shivalaya Nama Stothra. This anonymous Malayalam stothra was written. The same location names are used for numerous temples. Additionally, some old names no longer exist or have undergone changes. As a result, I treated the 108 shivalayas' temples bearing the same location names as a single entity. Therefore, you may discover more than 110 Shiva temples in Kerala on this list. It is clear that this stothra was composed in Thrissur region of Kerala because 64 temples were located in this region(9 in Palakkad district, 43 in Thrissur district and 12 in Ernakulam district). District wise distribution of rest of the temples are - 4 in Thiruvanathapuram, 5 in Kollam, 3 in Pathanamthitta, 6 in Alappuzha, 11 in Kottayam, 1 in Idukki, 7 in Malappuram, 4 in Kozhikkode, 1 in Vayanad and 5 in Kannur. Now 2 temples are in Karnataka and one is in Tamil Nadu.