Located near Aranmula, Pathanamthitta, Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple is a famous temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is one of the "Divya Desams", the 108 temples of Vishnu. Here, Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Lord Krishna (Parthasarathy). The temple is administered by Travancore Devaswom Board of the Government of Kerala.

Location Kerala, Alapuzzha, Thiruvananthapuram

Legend

According to the legends, Pandavas left for pilgrimage after crowning Parikshit. They visited Kerala and each of the brothers installed idols of Lord Vishnu on the banks of Pamba river and nearby places and offered worship. Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple by Yudhishthira, Puliyur Mahavishnu Temple by Bheema, Aranmula by Arjuna, Thiruvanvandoor Mahavishnu Temple by Nakula and Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Temple by Sahadeva. According to the legends, Arjuna brought the idol in Aranmula in a raft made of six pieces of bamboo and hence the place got the name Aranmula (six pieces of bamboo). It is said that Arjuna built this temple to redeem the sin of killing Karna on the battlefield.

Architecture

The temple is built in Kerala style architecture, which is common in all temples in the South Indian state of Kerala in Eastern axis. The temple has an elevated structure reached by a flight of 20 steps. The temple has a two storeyed gopuram or a gateway tower, with the upper storey having wooden trails covering the Kottupura (a hall of drum beating during festivals). A rectangular wall around the temple, called Kshetra-Madilluka, is interrupted by the gateways, encloses all the shrines of the temple. The metal plated flagpost or Dwajasthambam is located axial to the temple tower leading to the central sanctum and there is a Deepastamba, which is the light post. Chuttuambalam is the outer pavilion within the temple walls. The central shrine and the associated hall is located in a rectangular structure called Nallambalam, which has pillared halls and corridors. Between the entrance of Nallambalam to the sanctum, there is a raised square platform called Namaskara Mandapa which has a pyramidal roof. Thevrapura, the kitchen used to cook offering to the deity is located on the left of Namaskara Mandapa from the entrance. Balithara is an altar is used for making ritualistic offering to demi-gods and the festive deities. The central shrine called Sreekovil houses the image of the presiding deity. It is on an elevated platform with a single door reached through a flight of five steps. Either sides of the doors have images of guardian deities called Dvarapalakas. The central shrine has a circular plan with the base built of granite, super structure built of laterite and conical roof made of terrocata tile supported from inside by a wooden structure. The lower half of Sree Kovil consists of the basement, the pillar or the wall, called stambha or bhithi and the entablature called prasthara in the ratio 1:2:1, in height. Similarly the upper half is divided into the neck called griva, the roof tower called shikhara and the fonial kalasam (made of copper) in the same ratio. The roof projects in two levels to protect the inner structure from heavy rains during monsoon. The roof of the temple and some of the pillars have lavish wood and stucco carvings depicting various stories of ancient epics, Ramayana and Mahabharatha. The outer walls around the sanctum have a series of wooden frames housing an array of lamps, which are lit during festive occasions. The temples have paintings on its walls dating back to early 18th Century.

Culture

Chengannur is marked by temples and art forms related to temple. This gives another dimension to the legends related to temples here.

Darsan Info

Parthasarathy is the other name of Krishna on account of his role as Arjuna's Charioteer in the Mahabharata war. It is one of the most important Krishna temples in Kerala, the others being at Guruvayur Temple, Trichambaram Temple, Tiruvarppu and Ambalappuzha Sri Krishna Temple.

Darsan Dresscode

Typical Kerala traditional wear is preferred, including dhothi for men and saree for women.

Temple Rituals

Ashtamirohini - birth day of Lord Krishna - is also celebrated here in a grand style.The famous ritualistic mass feast, Ashtami Rohini 'vallasadya', will be held on this day. Thousands of devotees from different parts of the State will take part in this feast and is considered as the 'prasadom' of the presiding deity. The Palliyoda Seva Sanghom (PSS) has been organising the vallasadya on the temple premises for the past several years. Rice is served along with 32 side dishes on the day. The vallasadya will begin in front of the holy temple mast immediately after the utcha pooja at the temple. More than 30 Palliyodams will participate in vallasadya and the temple premises will be packed with devotees right from the morning. The Palliyodams carrying devotees from each kara in and around Aranmula will stage the Ashtami Rohini boat race and will reach the temple ghats in a procession by 11 a.m. After a rousing reception they will circumambulate the temple, chanting the vanchippattu, verses in praise of Lord Krishna, before partaking of the vallasadya.

Special Rituals

The sacred jewels, called Thiruvabharanam of Ayyappan are taken in procession to Sabarimala each year from Pandalam, and Aranmula Temple is one of the stops on the way. Also, the Thanka Anki, golden attire of Ayyappa, donated by the king of Travancore, is stored here and taken to Sabarimala during the Mandala season of late December.

Additional Info

 

Nalukettu Opposite Manikandan Aalthara, Poozhikad Muttar Road, Pandalam, Kerala 689501 Kenchik Kollam-Theni Hwy, Chengannur, Kerala 689121 Phone:086060 32785

 

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