Mahakshetrams of Kerala- Poornathrayeesa Temple,Thripunithura

The Poornathrayeesa Temple is in Thripunithura subarbantown of Kochi.this is one of the Mahakshetrams of Kerala. The Principal presiding Diety is Vishnu and is as much famous as Shri Padmanabha swamy Temple,at tTrivandrum & Guruvayoor temple in THRISSUR District. The temple is just 10 KM from Ernakulam City.This Mahakshetram is also very near to the famous Devi Kshetram at Chottanikkara The main yearly celebration in the Temple is in the Month of Vrishchikam( November-December).the it's am is called Vrishchikatsavam. The Diety is also known as SANTHANAGOPALAMOORTHY and is considered to be worth of worshipping by those who do not have children.The legend based on which this belief was formed was A story which can be also considered as the History behind this Temple. It is believed that Lord Vishnu once offered a Idol of Sree Poornathrayeesa to Arjuna the third of the Pandava brothers,when Arjuna made a request to give re-birth to 10 Children of a poor Brahmin who lost the children. Arjuna took the Idol & 10 Children to the Brahmin.He went there in a chariot.The Brahmin who was overwhelmed with joy on seeing the children vowed to built a Temple There in the form of a chariot.He built a Temple with Sanctum- Sanctorium in the shape of a chariot in memory of his children who were brought in a Chariot by Arjuna. Arjuna directed Lord GVanesha to find a suitable place for installing y\the Idol of Vishnu.The idol until then was kept in Poonithura Kottaram. Lord Ganesh found ther Sanctum in the shape of a chariot builty by the Brahmin &liked the place.He was deligted by the tranquility of the vedic village &occupied the sanctum himself Arjuna ,however,on seeing this thrown Ganesha to the southern side of the sanctum where the idol of Vishnu was installed.Usually in all temples the position of Ganesha is in the south Western side.ARJUNA FOUND THE PLACE WAS COVERED BY mUSTARD FIELDS. He gathered some mustard to light the lamps around the sanctum Sanctom. it is believed that the Valiya Vilakku (Big Lamp) in front of the Idol was the one lighted up by Arjuna&the oilb in it has medicinal effects. The Legends alsdo say that Sree Poornathrayeesa was the elder brother of the Goddess of Chottanikkara. It is also believed that the Lord was married to a Namboodiri girl Nangema from Vadakkedathu Mana. During the Temple festival occasions,Dieties from Perumthikkovil(Lord Shiva) &Pishri Kovil(Lakshmi) visit here for a combined procession This is locally called Sankaranarayana Vilakku(Shiva&Vishnu)and Lakshmi Narayana \ Vilakku(Goddess Lakshmi&Vishnu) The Aarattu (The Holy bath of the Diety) of Sree Poornethrayeesa takes place at the Temple pond of Chakkamkulangara Shiva Temple,which is situated North REast to Poornathrayeesa Temple. THE PRESIDING DIETY POORNATHRAYEESAN: The Presiding Diety POORNATHRAYEESAN is Mahavishnu as said earlier.The Temple was redesigned in 1921 by the Great Architect Eacharawarrier.The first floor of the Two storied Gopuram consists of a Mandapam. And 8 beautifully carved pillars to support the Mandapam. Even today one can find many Palatialbuildings here. The Temple is very big & the Idol is sitting on the serpent God Ananthan whose hood serves as a canopy for the Lord.The Diety looks magnificent with his right leg folded at knees & perched on the seat and Left leg hanging down.He carries Conch and Discuss in two hands and the third hand holds a Lotus and the fourth hand is resting on the seat.The Sanctom Sanctorum is circular in Shape and on the south side there is a Shrine of Lord Ganesha.Facing West side is the Shrine for Ananthan.The door of the shrines always remains closeand the Idols can be viewed through a small slit in the wall.A lamp always glows inside round the clock and is gracefully called KEDAVILAKKUwhich means a Lamp that keeps glowing always round the clock.The Idols are excellent in Brass moulded with artistic perfection around the circular Walls of theTemple The Kerala temple Premises are well known for Cleanliness as people take perfect care to clean them every day. The Poornathrayeesa Temple is not an exception to this convention.The Local people take a lot of care about this. The Area of the Temple is around 5 Acres There are view Galleries on the South& West side. These were meant for the Royal Family members in the olden days to assemble in large numbers to view the Festivals and listen to various Classical& Artistic Performances. The Devotees & Worshippers visiting the Temple for Darshan have to observe a strict Dress code prevailing here.Men are expected to wear the Traditional Mundu( Dhothi and accompanying Angavastrams.The womenSaris& Chooridars.Wearing of Western dress is not allowed inside the Temple.Some Temples in Kerala allow Trouser to wear inside the Temple But never Shirts & Vests while entering the Restricted Areas. There are two main Festivals here ONAM& the other in November which lasts for 8 days. The Athachamayam In the beginning of the Agricultural Festival of Onam is colorful in Many respects.Earlir days the Procession of Athachamayam used to proceed upto Thrikkakkara another Mahakshetram of Vishnu in the form of Vamana. The festival in November called Vrishchikotsava is famous for the Crowd and the whole Town gears up one week in advance with a view to making the event a big success. The Festival turns into a village fair with much decorations on the Road sides and ] archesWith glorious illumination. The main attraction of the festival is the Seeveli.It is the procession of Caprisoned Elephantscarrying the Idol atop.14-15 Elephants Get lined up for this event& indeed it is a spectacular show of Temple festivals in Kerala. Another important Festival is the Temple fire Utsav.This festival is of recent origin to remember a big fire that engulfed theTemple years ago. The Abode of Mahavishnu here is considered to be an Important Holy Place for Hindus The Birth Star of the God is Uthram.on this day thousands of people gather here . There is Lakshminarayana Vilakku on this day which has been brought out in earlier paragraphs. The main attraction on this day is the Annadanam meant for over 35 to 40,000 people. It would not be complete if I don't mention about an old Baniyan Tree in front of the Temple which was existing for more than 400 years.It was fell & no more since a few days back.A sacred & befitting Funeral was offered to the Old tree & in it's place a new Spling was planted. So to conclude ,the Poornathrayeesa Temple is one of the Mahakshetrams of Kerala & is worth visiting on a pilgrimage. The Temple is very near to the Famous city of ERNAKULAM.There are enormous means of Transport s to reach the Place from Ernakulam. So next time when you are in Kerala make it convenient to pay a visit to this magnificent Temple of Cultural& Artistic importance.. AUM MAHAVISHNU NAMA: SreedharanMundanat Thursday,August 7,2014 at5-42AM(IST)