Pilgrimage to Ramayana Temples of Kerala in July-August

Every year since 2012 ,I have been thinking about writing Blog on the four Ramayana Temples Existing in this small state of Kerala.Many Keralites outside Kerala& abroad are not aware of the divine Temples Situated in the Districts of Thrissur& Ernakulam a neighboring District. Ramayana is an epic very famous& known all over the World.But not the 4 Temples existing in Kerala spread over two Neighboring Districts which are of Prominent nature.Thrissur is known to be the Cultural Capital of Kerala while Ernakulam District is called the Commercial capital of Kerala.Kochi/ Ernakulam is the capital of Ernakulam District.The Smart city& Metro project are being established here. Let us come back to the Ramayana Temples.Why I call it Ramayana Temples?The reason is Obvious..The four main Characters of the Epic SreeRama,Bharatha,Lakshmana& Shatrughna are being worshipped here in Kerala as main Diet , The above four divine Temples are situated inThriprayar (near)Kodungallur,Koodalmanikyam Tmple inIrinjalakkuda 1)the SreeRama Temple in Thriprayar: This famous Temple for SreeRama the hero of Ramayana is situated about 23 KM from the well known Guruvayur Temple. The Temple has ancient history& is now being maintained by Devaswam Board,Kochi. The spectacular Festival in this Temple is Thriprayar Ekadasi as glittering as the Guruvayoor Ekadasi. The nearest Railway station is Guruvayur/Thrissur.The temple is on the bank of River Theevra. Many people visit this Temple with devotion in the Ramayanamasam( July-August) & during the Ekadasi Festival. 2)Koodal Manikyam Temple,irinjalakkuda:: This Temple belongs to Bharatha the brother of SreeRama who is supposed to be in wait here for his elder brother returning after the Exile in forest( Vanavasa) The one peculiarity of this Temple is that there is no Other deities here as is usual in every Temple of Kerala The temple is also known as Sangameswara Temple.Even Vighneswara( Ganapathy) present in every Templ is not present here. Another peculiarity here is that the Tulasi leaves which is considered to be sacred in every Temple & hindu houses in Kerala is not being used for worship here. Every Temple in Kerala are conducting Five Poojas & Three "siveli"s every day whereas here in this Bharatha temple just Three Poojas held every day & no Sivelis at all. This Temple is also being visited by Devotees during the Ramayana Punya Masam(July- August). 3)Muzhi kulam LakshmanaSwamy Temple: This Temple belongs to Lakshmana ,the brother of Rama who accompanied Rama to forest along with Seethadevi& is present with Rama in every activities during the war with Ravana& in protecting Seetaha. This Temple is situated at the sacred spot known as Thirumoozhikulam in between Aluva& Mala in Ernakulam District. The main diety is Lakshmana swamy Perumal.Butthere are Idols of Shiva( Dakshinamoorthy),Ganapathy,Gosala Krishna swamy Ayyappa,SreeRama,Seeta,Hanuman ( all Ramayana Characters)& Sreebhagavathy here.All these deities are being worshipped here. people with devotion visit this Temple also during July- August in big numbers. 4)Shatrughna Temple in Payammal : This famous Temple belonging to the youngest brother of SreeRama is situated near Irinjalakkuda. Located again in Thrissur District,this is one of the very few Temple dedicated to Shatrughna,the youngest Brother of Rama.this is the smallest Temple of the four Ramayana Temples. This Temple is also visited by people in big numbers during the Punyamasam in the month of July- August The visits tobthe Four Temples is Populary& religiously known as "NALAMBALAYATRA" & is being visited by devotees In the Ramayana Punya masam from July to august.The equivalent Month in Malayalam is known as KARKIDAKAM.This year this month ,incidentally ,began on the 17th of July& would continue until 16th of August. The Tourism Department of Kerala has made elaborate arrangement for the benefit of Pilgrimage. Any more information on the Temples known as Nalambalam can be had from the Tourism Department of the Government of Kerala. To visit the above Temples in their Traditional order,there are wide arrangements of Tourist Buses from Thrissur and Irinjalakkuda. In this month of July-August( Karkitaka), it is considered as a very holy activity to visit these Temples. Nalambalam Temple Dieties Jay Ho!!! SreedharanMundanat, 20th July,2014 04-10 AM(IST)