This famous temple of snake worship in Kerala is situated in Mannarasala near Harippad in the Alappuzha district. The presiding deities are Nagaraja and Nagayakshy. The legend has it that Parasurama installed the temple. As part of the penitential rites for annihilating the Kshathriyas Parasurama formed a land mass out of the ocean for the Brahmins. But the place was not fit for habitation. Following the instructions of Lord Siva, Parasurama invoked Nagaraja through penance and made the place habitable. He requested that the presence of the Nagaraja should always be there amidst the bountiful flora. The Nagaraja was pleased and declared this more place (the place where the temple exists) as his abode. Parasurama invoked the presence of Anandhan and Vasuki, the divine snakes of Vishnu and Siva respectively. He gave mantras and the power of snake worship to a Brahmin who was the chief among his disciples. Parasurama left the place after the blessing that it would gain fame as Mandarasala, the favourite abode of Nagaraja. Ages passed. One day this place was engulfed by the fire. The snakes which resided in the forest sought shelter at the abode of the Nagaraja in Mandarasala. The couple Vasudeva and Sreedevi who suffered extreme sorrow because of childlessness was the snake worshippers in that holy place. They took the snakes writhing in pain into their hermitage. The mother nursed them with motherly care and she applied ghee, milk, honey and oil to the burns. She protected them from the fire. The hermitage resisted the fire, its soil remained amazingly cool and the place came to be known as Mannarasala. That night the mother had a divine vision in her dreams. It was revealed to her that soon a son will be born to her who shall remove all her sorrows. Sreedevi soon became pregnant. She gave birth to two babies. One was a celestial five-headed snake child and the other a beautiful human child. The brothers grew up under the loving care of their mother. The snake child had the glory and power equal to five Suns. The mother came to realize that the divine powers of her first son may be a cause of alarm to others. She once scolded him saying- 'Son, can't you live somewhere quietly without frightening these poor souls? The son felt cross with his mother and hid in the store room of the Nalukettu. To the mother who followed him there, he replied-"Now on this is my abode. If the mother wants to see me, you can come here. You can offer the Nagaraja whatever you wish to give me. I will always bless you and be there forever". Even to this day the divine presence in the store room is regarded as the immortal family head and worshipped by the family members. According to the desire of the ancestor the mother of the family offers worship on the day following Sivarathri. On the other auspicious days, the mother offers worship to the Nagaraja. Such a glorious example of a mother-son relationship is hard to come by. In order to worship the mother and remove the curses of the snakes even devotees from abroad reach Mannarasala. For the Nagaraja who manifested himself as the son of the unhappy childless mother, the favourite offering is the cauldron which contains diluted milk. Childless couples offer the cauldron to the Nagaraja. The mother then takes this cauldron after special worship into the storeroom where it is placed upturned. Afterwards, the couple returns with their offspring and places the cauldron straight up. This ritual which has borne fruit for thousands of couples is a speciality of this temple. For the devotees, the Mannarasala Ayilyam procession conducted by the mother is a spiritually uplifting sight. The darshan of the idol being carried from the temple to the ancestral house brings bountiful blessings. Ayilyam in the month of Kanni which is the time of birth of the Nagaraja is celebrated across the coast of Kerala. While in Mannarasala, Ayilyam in Thulam is also celebrated with the same favour. Ayilyam in Thulam is now famous worldwide as Mannarasala Ayilyam. There is a legend behind this. Once the Travancore King was unable to offer prayers and see the Ayilyam procession during the month of Kanni. Following this, the King ordered that celebrations on the same grand scale should be conducted on Ayilyam in the month of Thulam. Thus, Ayilyam in both Kanni and Thulam are celebrated with the same spirit. Ayilyam in the month of Kumbam is celebrated as the time of birth of the divine presence in the storeroom. On this day the mother of the family leads the Nagaraja to the ancestral house in a procession. There are offerings of diluted milk and Guruthi.