Located just 3 km. towards East from Guruvayoor town, Thrissur District, Chowalloor Shiva Temple, an ancient one, was established by sage Parashurama. A part of 108 Shiva temples established by the sage, here the idol in the sanctum faces west.
It is one among the five Shiva temples close to Guruvayoor where God Sri Krishna (Guruvayoorappan) is famous and it is one of the most popular Sri Krishna temples in India. The temple, that is on a land of about four acres, does not have a flag-staff- Dwajasthmbam. Normally, all Hindu temples have a flag-staff close to the main entrance where the temple flag is hoisted on the very first day of any temple festival and this age-old tradition continues even today.
That there is no temple flag-pole here is a riddle. Shivaratri and Ashtami Rohini are the major festivals of the temple. The main Balikallu in Balikalpura is about 10 feet tall. The sanctum of this temple is circular in shape with two floors. The conical roof is copper-plated and was renovated in 2001.
Daily three pujas are conducted by the temple priests. In Tamil Nadu and elsewhere, in most Shiva temples, there is Aaru Kala pujas (six times a day) being conducted. At this temple there is a shrine for God Subrahmanya (Karthikaya) and the shrine underwent renovation in 2001 along with the main temple.