Chempazhanthy Manakkal temple is located at Chempazhanthy in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala. The temple is of great importance in the history of Kerala as it is associated with Sri Narayana Guru.
As per history, Manakkal temple was gifted by Marthanda Varma Maharaja of Travancore to the ancestors of Sri Narayana Guru and another family. The family house, Vayalvaram Bhavanam, of Sri Narayana Guru, where he was born, is located near the temple.
When the family got the sole ownership of the temple and nearby land they give all of it to Sri Narayana Guru.
The original pratishta in the temple was of Goddess Kali and the temple used to perform animal sacrifice. Gurudevan removed the Kali pratishta and also put an end to animal sacrifice. He then consecrated a Shivling and thus making it a Shiva temple. The Shiva Linga pratishta was done on December 23, 1925 CE (kollavarsham 1101 Dhanu 9).
After the death of Sri Narayana Guru, Swami Dharma Teertha Pathar removed the Shivling and consecrated the image of Sri Narayana Guru. Currently the sanctum sanctorum of the temple has an image of Sri Narayana Guru.