Padmanabhaswamy Temple
Posted On January 25, 2012
Come to Thiruvananthapuram in the state of Kerala in India and you are sure to feel overpowering strings pulling you towards itself and you will find yourself at the Padmanabhaswamy temple here. Yes, this is a greatly powerful temple here in this part of the world and has to its credit great legends and tales dating centuries back. The presiding deity here is Lord Vishnu or Padamanabha who is in the reclining position here with the Sheshnag protecting Him. Located in the East Fort area of the capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, this temple has been enshrined here with the Lord in his eternal sleep of yognidra. Tradition has it that this lord has been worshipped by the Moon God Chandra and the head of the devas, Lord Indra.
This temple is one of the 108 religious destinations of Lord Vishnu. These are called Divya Desams which are the holiest abodes of this Indian God Lord Vishnu. Also this temple is one of the Parasurama kshetras in Kerala. Thiruvananthapuram means the land of Sree Anantha Padmanabhaswamy.
This idol of Lord Vishnu is very important and is actually made up around 120008 salagramams that make up the reclining statue of the Lord. These have been brought from Nepal. It is said that on the banks of River Gandhiji these have been found and then brought. There was a substance called the katusarkara Yogam which was applied on top of them and then a plaster applied. It is believed that the Lord has actually come down to earth in disguise and saved the present day Thiruvananthapuram region from the evil hands of the enemies.
The main idol is found in the sanctum sanctorum and can be seen from the three doors. The entire reclining position spans over the three doors. The devotees see the face of Lord Padmanabha at the left door, the upper body at the middle door then the abdomen in the last door. Here the deities and statues of Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Bhoodevi and Goddess Sridevi are also seen.
The temple is located at a place which is considered s the place of the Parasurama kshetra. In fact the Skanda Purana and the Padma Purana have mentioned this temple in their texts. It is said that this is the place where the Lord gave a vision to the Indian saints like Vilvamangalam Swami and Divakarmuni.
Lord Padmanabha has been praised a lot by Nammalvar. Then the great Swati Tirunal Rama Varma has also sung a lot of praises of the Lord and it is a known fact that all the works of Swati Thirunal have the word Padmanabha written on it.
The inner sanctum sanctorum has a lot of murals and paintings in it an it is a beautiful sight to see all these paintings in full splendour. So get to see the paintings of all the Indian deities. The most beautiful paintings are that of Goddess Ashta Lakshmi and the life size pictures of Lord’s Ananthasayanam or the reclining position, and then there are the pictures of Gaja Lakshmi, Narasimha Swamy and Aswarooda Lakshmi Devi.
Today the temple is the richest Indian Hindu temple and is recognized as such in the world too. There is a golden idol of the Lord here with around 500 crore worth rubies, gems and stones embedded in it. Then there is the golden umbrella, gold ornaments, the golden bow, the swarna pathakam, besides the precious Belgium diamonds, and the golden crown known as the kulasekharaperumal Crown. It is called kireedam in Malayalam.
With the nearest airport and railhead as Thiruvananthapuram, the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala is a must watch for all pilgrims.
