1. Padmanabhswami Temple
Ø Location:- Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerela
Ø Best time and days to visit:- You
can visit it throughout a year. Best time to visit is from Aug-May early
in the morning.
Ø Padmanabhswami temple is one of the
richest temple located in India.
Ø There are many stories associated
with the origin of the temple.
Ø There was a Tulu Brahman named
Divakara Muni. He was a devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Ø Pleased by his prayers, Lord Vishnu
appeared in front of Divakara as a child.
Ø Impressed by the beauty of the child,
Divakara requested the child to stay with him.
Ø Child agreed but he kept one
condition i.e no matter what the child will do, muni should respect him.
Ø Muni agreed.
Ø One day, a child created the nuisance
with the fossil shell related to Lord Vishnu.
Ø It was not acceptable to Muni. He
was angry.
Ø Before disappearing, child appealed to muni that if he has a wish, he will be able to see him again in the Aananthankaadu.
Ø Divakara Muni understood about the
legacy of the child. He followed the route.
Ø After many days of walking,
Divakara Muni reached Arabian Sea coast and he caught a glimpse of child. Child
ran under the Lappa tree and disappeared.
Ø Tree later had fallen on a ground
and it was converted to the Lord Vishnu statue. Statue was huge in a size.
Ø Divakar Muni requested Vishnu to
reduce his size so that he could see him.
Ø Lord Vishnu agreed and he reduced
his size which was visible to the eyes of the Divakar Muni.
Ø That statue is the current location
of temple.
Ø It was built in 6th century.
It is also believed that it was built during the 1st day of
Kalyug.
Ø It is managed by the royal family
of Travancore.
Ø It is built in the Dravidian style
of architecture.
Ø Temple of one of the 108 Holly
abodes (Divya Desam) of Lord Vishnu in India.
Ø Temple is mentioned in the ancient
Tamil literature.
Ø God resides in an Anantha-
position( Eternal Sleeping position of yoga Nidra).
Ø There are three doors through which
we can have darshan. Lords face, His Navel and Lotus feet. To have darshan of Lord Padmanabhaswamy, one has to see Him
through three doors. No one can see the whole idol at once. Three doors
represent the three different stages of time.
Ø The first
door shows Shivlingam and Lord Vishnu. The second door shows Lord Brahma on the
lotus arising from Lord Padmanabhaswamy’s navel. From the third door, one can
see Lord’s feet. It
is believed that Lord Balaram visited the Temple and he had gifted the cows to
the holy man. Interior of the temple consists of murals of
Lord Vishnu.
Ø Strict dress- code needs to be
followed while entering the temple.
Ø A man should be dressed with the
Dhoti and women should be dressed with saree.
Ø Temple has a flag post covered with
the gold and copper sheets.
Ø It is believed that the interior of
the temple is made of 12008 Salagram collected from the River Gandaki in Nepal.
Ø Every devotee feels the oasis of
serenity inside the temple.
Ø Many areas of the temple are
adorned with the images of Lord Shiva.
Ø Mandapam of the temple is built
with a single slab of granite. It is in front of Lord Padmanabhswami. All the
granite pillars are covered with the Gold.
Ø Temple consist of Abhisravana
Mandapam, Kulasekhara Mandapam.
Ø Special Pooja Archana
related to the temple are performed in the Abhisravana Mandapam.
Ø Kulasekhara Mandapam is marvellous
work on the stone supported with the pillars. Each pillar when tapped produces
the musical notes.
Ø Temple has 9 entrances.
Ø Temple has 7 gopurams in the
eastern entrance with 35m height.
Ø Temple consists of the oldest
sacred water resources.
Ø There are a total of 11 mandapam
inside the temple.
Ø Temple is 7 Lord Parashurama kshetra.
Ø Nammalvar one of the ancient poet
wrote 12 prayers(Hymns) to praise the Padmanabhswami.
Ø Temple has the secret doors in which the large treasure was found in
2011.
Ø Yet, the sixth door remained closed. Since many believed that opening
sixth door may lead to the curse by Lord Vishnu. It is considered as the
mysterious, highly risky to open. It is also believed that it is protected by
the cobras and snakes and Lord Balaram during his visit had come to the sixth
door. Yet, the mystery behind the sixth door still continues.
Ø With all mysterious hidden treasure stories and the locked sixth door,
the temple remains one of the major attractions.
