About the temple
The temple is among the 108 divyadesams of Sri Vaishnavas and comes under the Malai naatu divyadesams that are spread all over Kerala state. The temple is among the most famous temples of Kerala apart from Guruvayoor and Sabarimala. The presiding deity is Sri Anantha Padmanabha swamy in Yoga nidhra posture and reclining on Adiseshan with one hand over Shivalingam. Its a huge temple and the Lord's idol made of Saligramam is also gigantic. There are three doors in the Otha kaal mandapam (made of a single stone) and one can see the Lord only through these doors. The temple continues to maintain the Kerala culture of not using electricity inside the Garba griham and only oil lamps are lit inside. Hence it is advisible to visit the temple in day light to have a better darshan of the Lord. Through the three doors, one can see the Lord's face, nabhi or navel and lotus feet. Besides the Lord on the two sides are Sreedevi Bhoodevi thayar and two sages who penanced there to have darshan of the Lord . Also Lord Brahma is present in the garbagriham connecting from the Lord's navel and several other devas in the sannadhi.
After a major fire accident in the temple few centuries back, Raja Marthanda Varma restored the temple and as per the Lord's wishes that were conveyed through the King's dream, the moolavar statue was made of 12000 sacred saligramam that arrived from the Himalayas on elephant back.
The goddess in the temple is known as Hari Lakshmi thayar and there is no seperate sannadhi in the temple for thayar. To the right of the main shrine is a shrine for Lord Narasimhar and on the left side are shrines to Sri Parthasarathy perumal and Lord Ramar. It is interesting to note that there is a statue of hanuman inside the Narasimhar sannadhi as if reciting Ramayana to cool off the Lord's anger after killing Hiranyakashapu. Continuous Ramayana recital is also done in the Narsimhar sannadhi. In the Ramar sannadhi, the Lord gives darshan in two forms -one as a king and one like he was when banished for 14 yrs along with Sita, Lakshmanan and Hanuman.
How to reach
The temple is about a km from the railway station and is easily accessible through autos or walk. Trivandrum is well connected to other important cities of India through train, air and road. Trivandrum also has an international airport few kms from the city.
Temple Pushkarni and vimanam
The temple tank is called Padma theertham and the vimanam is known as Hemakoota vimanam.
Temple timings
The temple is open in the mornings from 4 am to 12.30 pm and from 5 pm to 7.30 pm with breaks in between for daily rituals.
Temples in proximity
Varkala Janardhana perumal temple, Thiruvattaru Adi Keseva perumal temple, Thiruvanparisaram, Kanyakumari amman temple
Whenever I am in Trivandrum like to visit this temple.
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