Thriprayar Sree Ramaswamy Tmple

The devotees of Shreekrishna Temple at Guruvayur who assemple in millions on the Ekadsi day at Guruvayoor generally await the Thriprayar Ekadasi which falls shotly after the Guruvayoor,event.This is mostly true with the vast devotees belonging to the southern states of India. This year the Thriprayar Ekadasi falls on the 13th of December 2017. Thriprayar Sri Ramaswamy Temple is situated on the west bank of Teevra River,on the Chettuva area between Guruvayur and Kodungallor.It is easier to reach Thriprayar from Guruvayoor by road.The name of Thriprayar is known to have derived from the name of the river Teevra.The idol in the Temple is that of four armed Vishnu.The legend about the idol is that of Rama who after just eliminating Kharasura assumed all the powers of Trimurthys manifested in Him.It is believed that the Conch and Chakra on the idol denote Vishnu,the bow Shiva and the garland Brahma. In the Sanctum Sanctorum,installed facing the south is Dakhninamoorthy.Outside the main Temple are the idols of Lord Ganesha,Dharmasastha,&Goshalakrishna installed. Devotees believe that the Darshan of Rama should believe only afterpaying respects to Hanuman,who is supposed to be present at the Mandapa in the front.It is also believed Chathan Swamy is also present at the Temple at the service of Rama.The Poojas and Sheevelis are held daily at the Temple.Thriprayar is one of the few Vaishnava Temples where fireworks is allowed as an offering to the God.In fact these these barrel crackers is one of the main offerings here. The offerings reminds of the time whenHanuman ,who had gone in search of Sita comes back and shouts to Rama about how he had located Sita,his voice reverberated across the three worlds. Another legend is that during Tipu invasion the crackers were thrown tob the river but they exploded in the waters. Another important offering is the feeding fishes here. The fish was the first Avtar of Vishnu and so fish in the river is fed in memory of that. It is believed that the Lord takes the form of fish to accept this offering. The main festival at the Temple is Ekadasi in the month of Vrishikam(scorpio) and pooram during the month of Meenam(Pices)ThriprayarEkadasi falls in the dark half of Vrishkam.The myth behind this festival is thatis that before slaying Ravana, Rama had undergone Penance during this month.it is als one of the very few Temples where festival is held without the ceremony of Flag-Hoisting. Sreedharan Mundanat 11th December 2017. Thrissur 680 004