01Daksha’s yajna
The Puranas tell how Daksha held a great yajna and did not invite Shiva, how Sati went uninvited and gave up her body in the fire, and how Virabhadra, born of Shiva’s anger, destroyed the yajna. Kottiyoor’s tradition places that yajna here, on the bank of the Bavali. On the far bank, Akkare Kottiyoor, the swayambhu linga sits on a raised stone platform in the river forest, the manithara, and the shrine has no permanent building; the near bank, Ikkare Kottiyoor, has the temple that is open through the year.
02Vaishakha Mahotsavam
The Vaishakha Mahotsavam runs for about four weeks from the Malayalam month of Edavam into Mithunam, in the heaviest rains. The sword is brought from Muthirikkavu, sheds of palm leaf are raised over the linga, and lakhs walk through the wet forest. The Ilaneerattam, the abhishekam with tender coconut water carried by devotees who have fasted for weeks, and the Rohini Aradhana are the high points. Women may enter Akkare only on certain days of the festival.
About 65 km east of Kannur. Akkare is open only during the festival (roughly late May to late June); Ikkare is open all year.
