Padmanabha Swamy Temple

The temple is located inside the East Fort. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, &a blend of the Kerala and Dravidian styles of architecture. It is known for its Mural Paintings and Stone Carvings. One among the 108 sacred Vishnu Temples in India, the presiding deity in here is Lord Vishnu reclining on anantha the serpent. Padmanabhaswamy Temple: The temple is located inside the East Fort. The temple is a blend of the Kerala and Dravidian styles of architecture. It is known for its mural paintings and stone carvings. This temple a sprawling complex with a magnificent seventeen storied tower houses the idol of Lord Vishnu in the form of Ananthapadmanabha (the lord who upheld creation on a lotus that sprang forth from His navel). The 6 m image of Vishnu reclining on Anantha the Serpent, partly covered with gold and embellished with precious stones is viewed in three sections through three doors. One among the 108 sacred Vishnu temples in India. Only Hindus are allowed inside the temple. Historical records show that in 1750, The Maharaja of Travancore on being victorious in a battle, laid down his sword and offered himself to this temple's deity. Since then, all his successors have ruled the land as Padmanabhadasas (servants of Padmanabha). Arattu is an important festival here.

This temple, a sprawling complex with a magnificent seven storied tower houses the idol of Lord Vishnu in the form of Ananthapadmanaoha (the Lord who upheld creation on a lotus which sprang forth from His navel). The 6 m image, partly covered with gold and embellished with precious stones is viewed in three sections through three doors.

History

In older days Sree Padmanabha Kshetram and its properties were controlled by powerful lords known as Ettuveetil Pillamar under the guidance of Ettara Yogam.

Later, Marthanda Varma defeated the Pillamar and his cousins "Kunju thampis", took over power.

The last major renovation of the temple was done by King Marthanda Varma, Maharaja of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. He dedicated his kingdom to the deity, and pledged that he and his descendants would serve the kingdom as Padmanabha Dasa, meaning "servants of the Lord Padmanabha". With this, Sri Padmanabha became the nominal head of the state of Travancore, assuming the title Perumal, the Emperor. The British Government saluted the Lord with a 21-gun salute, a military tradition of colonial days, which was continued by the Indian Army until the abolition of the privy purses by Government of India with Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister.^[2]

The royal insignia of the Lord, The Valampiri Shankhu or dextral conch-shell, served as the State emblem of Travancore and even continued so for some time after the re-organization of the States. Sri Padmanabha is still regarded as regional deity of Travancore. The two annual festivals of the Temple culminate in a grand procession, in which the three deities (Sree Padmanabha, Narasimha Swamy and Krishna) are carried on flower-deck and aesthetically decorated Garuda Vahanas to the Shankhumukhom beach, for 'aaraattu' (sacramental ablution). The 'aarattu' days are declared as local public holidays in Thiruvanathapuram. The Idol is maded of Kadusarkkara Yogam, an ayurvedic mixture, with Lord Vishnu sleeping on Anantha with his head pointing towards south and facing east.

The temple

Gopuram

The foundation of the present gopuram was laid in 1566. The temple has a 100-foot, seven-tier gopuram. The temple stands by the side of a tank, named Padma Theertham (meaning the lotus spring). The temple has a corridor with 365 and one-quarter sculptured granite-stone pillars with elaborate carvings. This corridor extends from the eastern side into the sanctum sanctorum. An eighty-foot

flag-staff stands in front of the main entry from the 'prakaram' (corridor). The ground floor under the gopuram (main entrance in the eastern side) is known as the 'Nataka Sala' where the famous temple art Kathakali was staged in the night during the ten-day uthsavam (festival) conducted twice a year, during the Malayalam months of Meenam and Thulam

Garbhagriha

In the Garbhagriha, an idol of Vishnu is depicted in a reclining position over the serpent Anantha or Adi Sesha. The serpent has his face pointed upwards, as if enjoying the fragnance emanating from the lotus held in his left hand. His right hand hangs over Shiva. Sridevi and Bhudevi, two consorts of Vishnu stand by his side and the Brahma is seen on a lotus, which emanates from the navel of Vishnu. The idol is made up of 10008 Saligram that compose the reclining Vishnu. These Saligram are from the banks of the river Gandaki in Nepal, brought with much ceremony on elephants. On top of the Saligram, "Katusarkara yogam", a special ayurvedic mix, was used to make a plaster. The katu sarkara mould keeps the idol free from pests. The abhishekam of the Lord is not a traditional ritual. The daily worship is with flowers and for the abhishekam special separate idols are used. The flowers have always been removed using peacock feathers fearing damaging the katu sarkara on the idol.The GarbaGriha is carved out of a single stone and hence called "Ottakkal Mandapam". In order to perform darshan and puja, one has to climb on to the "Ottakkal Mandapam". The deity is visible through three doors - Face of the Lord and Siva Linga underneath his hand in the first door, Brahma seated on lotus emanating from the Lord's navel along with the "Utsava moorthi" and idols of Lord MahaVishnu, Sreedevi and Bhoodevi in the second door and the Lord's feet in the third door. Only the King of Travancore may perform Namaskaram, or bow prostrate on this "Ottakkal Mandapam". Since the idol of the Lord is also on this "Ottakkal Mandapam", anybody who bows prostrate, or any material object that is kept here, henceforth belongs to the Lord. Here, the King is called a "Padmanabha Dasa", or a

"servant" of Vishnu. Adherents believe that it is actually Vishnu who rules the state of Tranvacore.

In the 108 Divya deshams, or holiest shrines of Lord Vishnu, the idols of the Lord are in one of the three different postures, either Reclining, sitting, or standing. A unique feature of the Padmanabha Swamy temple is that it has idols in all these three postures. The main idol inside the sanctum sanctorum and viewed from three doors is in the reclining posture, the idol viewed through the central door in the standing posture, and the "Utsava Murthi", the idol taken out for the festival processions is in the sitting posture.

There are other important shrines inside the temple for Hindu deities Sri Narasimha, Sri Krishna, Sri Ayyappa, Sri Ganesha and Sri Hanuman. Many other small shrines like Kshetrapalan (who guards the temple), Vishwaksena and Sri Garuda are also present.

A unique feature that came to light recently is the fact that Lord Padmanabha's idol is entirely cast in gold except for the face and chest. Katu sarkara yogam was used to ward off invasion of the temple by the Muslim rulers. The crown of the Lord sporting kundalams in the ears, the huge salagrama mala adorning the chest and the finely chiseled poonal are in gold. The various ornaments covering the chest and the right hand sporting a huge kankanam shielding Lord Siva, the left hand holding a Kamalam are in gold. The stalk of the kamalam rising out of the nabhi is also in splendid gold. The entire length of the Lord's legs is again cast in gold.

The katu sarkara yogam was obviously an ingeniously conceived plan to avoid the prying eyes of the invaders who attacked the city.^[5

Legend

There are many legends regarding the origin of the temple. One such legend says that Vilvamangalathu Swamiyar alias Divakara Muni prayed to Krishna for his

darshan. Krishna came in disguise as a small, mischievous boy. The boy swallowed the Saligrama which was kept in Puja. The Sage became enraged at this and chased the boy until the boy hid himself behind a tree. The tree fell down and became Vishnu in Anantha Shayanam (reclining posture on Anantha the serpent) --but when he did so, he was of an extraordinarily large size. The Sage, recognizing that the tree was Vishnu, pleaded that because of the huge form the lord had manifested before him he could not either have a mind fulfilling darshan or circumbulate him. He then asked the Lord to shrink to a smaller proportion - thrice the length of his staff. Immediately, the Lord Vishnu shrunk himself, and told the sage that he should be worshipped through three doors. These doors are now the doors in the temple through which the idol may be viewed. Through the first door, the worship is offered to Shiva; through the second entrance to Brahma on the Lord's lotus navel, and through the third is Vishnu's feet, which are said to lead to salvation.

There was a great fire accident in which the original Murti which was made of the wood of that tree got burned during a fire that engulfed the temple complex, was a sign of the unhappiness of the lord with the king.

Mythology

Padmanabhaswamy Temple stands at a place considered as one of the seven Parasurama Kshetras; texts including the Puranas, particularly the Skanda Purana and Padma Purana, have references to this shrine. Another story tells of a pulaya couple seeing Vishnu in the form of a child. The child took morsels of rice from the hands of the couple. Also it is believed that Divakaramuni, when he saw the deity he took the first food item he saw which was an Unripe Mango and a coconut shell as an offering plate and performed primary pooja. In memory of this legend, naivedyam or offering prepared from rice is offered to the deity here in a coconut shell.

Sri Padmanabha Swamy Mahatmyam – history

The idol is made up of 12008 salagramams that compose the reclining lord. They are special because they are from Nepal, from the banks of river Gandhaki and they were brought to the temple with all pomp and gaiety on elephant top. On top of them "katusarkara yogam", navaratnams, a special ayurvedic mix, was used to give a plaster. Followers believe that the Lord has personally come in disguise and had saved many times the Travancore Kingdom from the clutches of enemies

Darshan, sevas and festivals

There are many festivals related to this temple. The major festivals are bi-annual. The Alpashy festival which is in October/November and the Painkuni festival which is in March/April last for 10 days each. These festivals culminate with the Aarat (holy bath) procession to the Shankumugham Beach. The word Aarat refers to the purificatory immersion of the deities of the temple in sea. This event takes place in the evening. The King of Travancore escorts the Aarat procession by foot. The idols of Sri Padmanabhaswamy, Krishna and Narasimha are given a ritual bathe in the sea, after the prescribed pujas. After this ceremony, the idols are taken back to the temple as a procession in the light of traditional torches, marking the conclusion of the festival.

A major annual festival related to Padmanabha temple is the Navaratri festival. The idols of Saraswati, Durga, and Murukan are brought to the kuthira malika palace in front of Padmanabha temple as a procession. This festival lasts for 9 days. The famous Swathi music festival is held every year during this festival.

The biggest festival in this temple is laksha deepam, which means hundred thousand (or one lakh) lamps. This festival is unique and commences once in 6 years. Prior to this festival, chanting of prayers and recitation of three vedas is done for 56 days. On the festival time, hundred thousand oil lamps are lit in and around the temple premises. The next laksha deepam is slated on January 2014

 

Darshan times are (before noon) 3.30-4.45, 6.30-7.00, 8.30-10.00, 10.30-11.00, 11.45-12.00; (after noon) 5.00-6.15 and 6.45-7.20. Only Hindus are permitted inside the temple. Devotees have to strictly follow the dress code. Men should remove clothes above waist and deposit in the locker room. No one is permitted to wear dress that displays both legs separately. This means no pants for men or churidhar for women. Dhotis can be borrowed at the locker room for Rs. 15. Dhotis can be worn over pants or churidhar. No cell phones or cameras are permitted inside the temple. Cell phones must be deposited in the locker room after taking it out of the bag for Rs. 15 a piece. Hand bags are permitted inside