Introduction As in the other parts of the country the main deities worship- ped in Kerala are Vişņu, Siva, Durga, Ganapati, Subrahmanya, Sarasvati etc. But some more deities are prominently worshipped in this region. For instance śāstā also called Hariharaputra is a popular god worshipped in temples. Another peculiarity in this respect is that certain gods like Varaha, Parasurama, Balarāma, Bharata, Brahmã etc., are also consecrated in Kerala shrines unlike in the other parts of the country. Tantric treatises of Kerala also describe the installation and worship of gods like Surya, Vaissrvaṇa, Indra etc.. though such temples are rarely found in the present day. In Kerala temples only the chief priest is allowed to perform Puja to the idol inside the Garbhagṛha. In performing the Pujā the priest utters the Mantras inaudibly but shows the gestures and related actions with meticulous care in strict accordance with the rules and practices. In contrast several people are permitted to perform Puja in other parts of the country and they utter the Mantras aloud, little care being bestowed to the Tantric aspect. The mode of worship also calls for consideration. It is again observed :1 "The ritual of ceremonial worship in the Kerala temples is a combination of both Vaidika with Vedic Mantras and methods and Tantrika with non-Vedic Mantras and rules, the Tantrika element slightly predominating over the Vaidika. It, therefore, comes under the category of Tantrika-Vaidika follow- ing the classification in the Puruşārthaprabodha of Brahmanand- abharati. It is Vaidic worship in the Tantric mode. The Pañca- tattva or the Pañcamakãra, which constitutes an integral part of orthodox Śäkta Tantra, has, however, no place in the Devi temples of Kerala. Madya, Mamsa, Matsya and Maithuna, whatever may their denotation and significance, are as such entirely absent in the routine temple ritual. Mudrã alone is there, but it is in the sense of gesture, and there is quite a lot of this". "The number of Půjäs per day as well the time of their perform- ance are also bound by rules. Generally there will be three Püjās,
Every day the Abhişeka (ceremonial bath) is performed to the 1. Ibid, p. 19.
