Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Trivandrum

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple The history of goes back to 8th century. References to  temple are  found in the Divya prabandha canon of literature written by Tamil Alwar. Alvars Tamil Saint poets who lived between the sixth and ninth centuries AD.  Sri Padmanabha Temple references are also to have in the Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, Varaha Purana, and Vayu Purana. One of the twelve Alvars, Nammalvar (8th Century) had written four slokas and one phalasruthi about Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.Major Renovation of Temple by Marthanda Varma It is believed that Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple and its properties were maintained by Ettuveetil Pillamar – the eight powerful Nair feudal lords of ancient Travancore. Later His Royal Highness Sree Marthanda Varma Anizham Thirunal suppressed the Ettuveetil Pillais and his cousins and took over the control of the temple. Marthanda Varma has done a major renovation to the temple and  the current structure of Padmanabhaswamy temple was also made by the King.Murajapam and Bhadra Deepam Introduced in Temple  The Marthanda Varma has introduced the Murajapam and Bhadra Deepam festival in the temple.Murajapam, which literally means continuous chanting of prayers, is still conducted in the temple once in 6 years. Murajapam is performed when 12 Bhadradeepam joins.Travancore was dedicated to Sree Padmanabhaswamy in 1750In 3rd January 1750, Maharajah Marthanda Varma dedicated the kingdom of Travancore to Lord Padmanabha. Marthanda Varma vowed that the royal family will rule the state on behalf of Lord and he and his descendants would “serve” the kingdom as Padmanabha Dasa  of Lord Padmanabha. Since then the name of every Travancore King was preceded by the title Padmanabha Dasa, while the female were called Padmanabha Sevinis. The donation of the kingdom of Travancore to Padmanabhaswamy was known as “Thripadidanam”. After dedicating the kingdom to the Lord, Marthanda Varma was known as Sripadmanabha Vanchipala Marthandavarma Kulasekaraperumal. By giving the Kingdom to Lord Padmanabha, the whole Travancore state became the property of Sree Padmanabhaswamy, and hence it is very appropriate to call Kerala as “God’s Own Country”or Sree Padmanabhaswamy’s Own Country.Travancore Kings after Marthanda Varma After the death of Marthanda Varma in 1758, all the succeeded Kings of Travancore took great care in continuing the daily poojas and ceremonies of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple intact and also rule the kingdom as Padmanabha Dasa. The successors of Marthanda Varma was Dharma Raja, Balarama Varma, Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, Gowri Parvati Bayi, Swathi Thirunal, Uthram Thirunal, Ayilyam Thirunal, Visakham Thirunal, Moolam Thirunal, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, and Chithira Thirunal. The present head of the Travancore Royal Family, Sri Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma also keeps the words of Marthanda Varma and is very loyal to Sree Padmanabhaswamy and maintains the temple rituals and ceremonies intact.

 Sree Padmanabhaswamy can seen from 3 Doors

The garbhagriha  of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is located on a stone slab and the Lord who is seen resting on the serpent inside is viewed through three different doors.

The head and chest are seen in the first door;

The middle portion and hands appear through the second door 

The feets are seen through the third door.

His right hand is hanged over Lord Shiva. Beside him are his consorts, Sridevi and Bhudevi and Lord Brahma is seen on a lotus, which comes from the navel of Vishnu. The idol is about 18 feet long .built with 10008 Saligram stones and covered with gold and precious stones. The distinctive feature of the temple is that it has idols of the Lord in three postures. Main idol inside the sanctum is in the reclining posture; the idol seen through the central door in the standing posture, and there is an Utsava Murthi (the idol taken out for the festival processions) in the sitting posture.

 Rs 90000 Crore Gold Treasure in Temple

 Around 90,000 crore worth treasure (Nidhi) has  found in the secret cellars of the famous Kerala Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu – Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The 7 member paper appointed by the Supreme Court of India, has been preparing the list of valuable found in the cellars of Sri Padmanabhaswami Temple. The temple has 6 Secret Cellars (Nilavara – a place to keep assets safe) from Cellar A to Cellar F. Opening of each of these chambers is revealing a virtual treasure trove with precious diamonds, golden ornaments, emeralds, jewelleries,rare antique silver and brass platters and golden idols. An estimation of above 90,000 crore treasure was valued at the completion of the 6th day of valuing the assets of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

 Golden idol of Mahavishnu worth Rs. 500 Crore

  On the 6th day the main treasure found a one foot (12 angulams) height golden idol of Lord Mahavishnu and a 30 kg golden ‘anki’. This golden idol of Lord Vishnu is seems to

be used for ‘utsava vigraham’ in the temple. The golden idol of Padmanabhaswamy decorated with more than 1000 previous stones which is valued to around Rs. 500 Crore. The golden idol of Lord Sree Krishna was also found which weighs around 5 kg. Golden Coins, Ornaments, and Human figurine Several golden coins were also found which are

believed to be issued during the reign of Krishnadeva Rayar in the 16th century AD. Numerous golden ornaments which were used to adorn the main deity were also found in the Vault marked A.Ornaments studded with emeralds were also found .Numerous golden human figurine weighing 1 kg, golden bangles, golden rope, are other interesting treasure found in the Vishnu Temple.Golden Coconut Shells Another interesting finding was two coconut shells made of pure gold. One of this golden coconut shell was students with rare antique stones including emeralds and rubies.Cellar B To be Open .Cellar B is the remaining one secret vault which is yet to be opened. It is said that this cellar haven’t been opened for more than 100 years. The remaining articles in Cellar A will be inventoried  and Cellar B will be opened only after that.

Sabarimala  Swami Ayyappa Temple

Sabarimala Sree Swami Ayyappa Temple is one of the most ancient and prominent Sastha temples in the country. Located in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala,India. Sabarimala Sri Dharmasastha Temple is one of the few Hindu temples in India that is open to all faiths. The shrine of Sabarimala is one of the most remote shrines in southern India yet it still Atracts three to four million pilgrims each year. Surrounded by mountains and dense forest Sabarimala  place where Swami Ayyappan meditated. Perhaps the best known pilgrimage destination in Kerala is Sabarimala. Sabarimala Sri Dharmasastha Temple is the most famous and prominent among all the Sastha Temples. It is believed that “Parasurama Maharshi” who retrieved Kerala from the sea by throwing his axe, installed the idol of Ayyappa at Sabarimala to worship Lord Ayyappa.The pilgrimage begins in the month of November and ends in January. The  pilgrims came here not only from the southern states of India, but also from other parts of the country and abroad. The shrine gets clouded with devotees especially during the main pilgrim season from November to January. Mandala pooja (December12,2011) and Makaravilakku(Jan.15th,2012) are the two main events of the pilgrim season. The temple stays closed during the rest of the year except for the first five days of every Malayalam month and during Vishu (April).

Certain customs are strictly observed if one has to undertake a pilgrimage to Sabarimala. A pilgrim attending the Mandalapooja should observe austerities for 41 days. During this period, the pilgrim should sustains himself from non vegetarian food and carnal pleasures. Pilgrims set out in groups under a leader, and each carry a cloth bundle called Irumudi kettu containing traditional offerings. Unlike certain Hindu temples, Sabarimala temple has no restrictions of caste or creed. The temple is open to males of all age groups and to women who have either passed their fertility age and those before reaching the stage of puberty. The easiest route is via Chalakkayam, by which one can reach the banks of the river Pamba by vehicle. Pamba is the main halting point on the way to Sabarimala. From here one has to walk for 4 to 5 kms to reach the Sabarimala temple.

Makara-vilakku, Jyoti

 The auspicious Makaravilakku day coinciding the Makara-sankramom, falls on January 15 (on maker sankranthi) The Ayyappa idol will be adorned with the Thiruvabharanam prior to the deeparadhana on the same day afternoon.

Sighting of the celestial star, `Makara-jyoti’, on the eastern horizon of the Sannidhanam and lighting of the `Makara-vilakku’ atop a remote hill, Ponnambalamedu, facing the Ayyappa Temple will take place immediately after the deeparadhana.Tens of thousands of Ayyappa devotees watch rush into pilgrim centre to witness the Makara-jyoti and Makaravilakku, which, they consider the most auspicious event at Sabarimala.

 History :

 AYYAPPAN know as AYYAN who belonged to the Vellalar Kulam, was the army chief of the Pandalam royal family. He lived with his uncle Perisseri Pillai of Erumeli, Kottayam dist, Kerala. This was about ten generations ago.Ayyan was instrumental in the defeat of Udayanan, who attacked Sabarimala and tried to demolish the ancient Sastha temple in the thick forest of present Pathanamthitta district.Meanwhile the Royal family of King Pandya had migrated from Tamilnadu about 800 years back. The King reconstructed the destroyed Sastha temple at Sabarimala with the help of Ayyan, Vavar, a Muslim youth from Kanjirappally, Kadutha, a Nair youth from Muzhukeer, Chenganoor, Alapuzha dist.During a clash, Ayyappan got killed. His uncle, Perissery Pillai, constructed the KOCHAMPALAM – an old small Sastha temple – at Erumeli, opposite the VAVAR PALLY (MOSQUE), constructed by Muslims in memory of Vavar swamy.After the demise of Ayyappan people thought that he was the avathar of Lord Sastha and began to worship him. Later Ayyappan and Sastha became synonymous.Some say that Ayyappan was the son of a Brahmin but Nalankal Krishna Pillai in his book “Mahashekthrangalkkumunpil” states that Brahmins never had the name AYYAPPAN or AYYAN.

 In the age old “Elavarsevampattu” it was clearly mentioned that Ayyan belonged to “Vellalar kulam, Near Erumeli, Kottayam, Kerala.There still exists a vellala house called Puthenveedu in Erumely. In the same compound there is a 300 year old, thatched, depleted, mud house, the house of Perissery Pillai, Ayyappan’s uncle and the Vellal Chieftain of Erumeli. There even today one can see the ancient sword used by Ayyappan to kill the monstrous ERUMA- mahisham. The place where the “eruma” was killed became Erumakolly and later Erumeli.Sabarimala pilgrimers ,Ayyappans, conduct the Erumeli PETTAITHULLAL (Pettatullal is painting the face with colours and dancing with wooden weapons to make one look odd. The essence of this practice is to give up ones ego and surrender to Lord Ayyappa. )This is to commemmorate the killing of mahisham by Ayyan and is celelebrated during the month of December-January every year. “Ayyan / Ayyappan” Pillai is very common name among vellalas of Kottayam, Alapuzha, Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Ernakulam districts of Kerala. A number of Ayyappan kovils were constructed by Vellalas who migrated from Tamilnadu to Kerala e.g. Erumeli, Kanam etc.

Lakhs and lakhs of Tamilian Ayyappan devotees called the “Ayyappans” – come to Sabarimala every year to worship Tamil origin “VELLALAR KULA JHATHAN AYYAN AYYAPPAN”.