kerala – Harrytinkers travelog

12 Interesting facts about Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple

Posted on May 14, 2021 by harrytinkers

Thiruvananthapuram is splits into Tiru + Anantha+ Puram” meaning “the town of Lord Anantha. The town is said to be the capital city of Travancore rulers and the kings have called themselves “Padmanabha-Dasa” (servants of Lord Vishnu), and ruled the state as the representatives of Lord Anantha-Padmanabha.

Sree Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple Hindu temple, and situated in Thiruvananthapuram. The temple is ancient and Garbhagriha (main sanctum) is carved out of a single stone.The temple is also known to be the Mahakshetraas it belongs to one of the 108 Divya desam (Divya Desams are shrines that have been sung by the Azhwars in their Pasurams, which are a part of the Divya Prabandham) in India.

It’s said that the temple was made on the first day of Kaliyuga 5000 year back. The temple is spread over 7 acres of land and has 4 main entrances.

Temple Timings

Morning: 03:30 am to 04:15 am, 05:15am to 06:15am, 08:30am to 11:00am, 12:00pm to 12:15pm

Evening: 05.00 pm to 06.30 pm, 07:00pm to 07:20pm

Dress code

Only Hindus are allowed inside the temple and the dress code have to be strictly followed, For Men its dhoti with bare chest and for woman its only sari or pavada (ling skirt) is allowed. Any bifurcates or any other kind of outfit is strictly prohibited. The outfits are available outside temple on rent.

12 Interesting facts about the temple

The idol Composition

The Lord Vishnu is in Anathashayanam position (sleeping position) which shows the trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) made of kadasharakara (a composition of herbs, resin and sand).

The main idol is made with 12,500 saligram stones transported from the Gandaki river in Nepal. Saligramas are auspicious stones worshipped and venerated as the direct manifestation of Lord Vishnu.

The temple was first made of wood and later constructed with granite that its today. It has 365 pillars representing one for each day of the year.

Three doors for Darshan

The most unique feature of the Padmanabha Swamy temple is that it has the idols in reclining, sitting and standing postures.

The main idol is inside the sanctum sanctorum is in the reclining posture is 18 foot long, can be viewed through three doors –

first doors show the Lord’s face and Siva Linga underneath his hand

second door shows Brahma seated on lotus emanating from the Lord’s navel along with the “Utsava moorthi” and the idol viewed through the central door in the standing posture Lord MahaVishnu, Lakshmi devi (goddess of wealth) and Bhoomi devi (goddess of earth)

and the Lord’s feet in the third door. Utsava Murthi”, the idol taken out for the festival processions is in the sitting posture.

Ottakkal mandapam

Only the King of Travancore performs Namaskaram, or bow prostrate on this “Ottakkal Mandapam”. Since the idol of the Lord is also on this “Ottakkal Mandapam”, anybody who bows prostrate, or any material object that is kept here, henceforth belongs to the Lord.

Tradition says the King is a “Padmanabha Dasa”, (a servant of Vishnu). It’s also believed that lord Vishnu rules the Kingdom of Travancore

The Ottakkal Mandapam (single stone platform) is in front of the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Vishnu which is built with a single slab of granite. Its granite pillars are covered with gold.

Usage of gold in the Temple

The idol of Lord Sree Padmanabha Swamy is covered almost entirely in gold by a “Thanka Anki” or golden dress. The Ottakkal (or single stone) Mandapam in front of the main Sreekovil is covered in gold. The flag mast of Sree Padmanabha Swamy
is also covered in gold. Further, the Nivedyam called Navaratna payasam for the Peruthiru amrith pooja is offered to the lord in Gold Vessels.
A unique feature that came to light recently, while cleaning the idol is the fact that Lord Padmanabha’s idol is entirely cast in gold except for the face and chest. Along with the crown, ear rings, chiseled poonool, ornaments covering the chest, Lord’s legs and the right hand sporting a huge kankanam, the left hand holding a lotus and the lotus stalk are in gold. The kadasharakara (covering the idol with a dark coloured ayurvedic paste) was used to hide it from the Muslim invaders

The mysterious Vaults

The temple has 6 vaults known as kallaras labelled from A-F and as per supreme cout directions the chamber A were opened and On 2 July 2011, The chambers contain gold jewellery, medallions, precious stones, gold coins, model necklaces, stone-studded ornaments, golden armlets, head sets, heaps of pearl jewels, diamonds, golden lotuses, silver biscuits, decoration items for the Garudavahana, pooja items and festival equipment now it might become the richest temple in the world. The most amount of treasure was discovered in chamber A. Vault B is the final vault that has not been opened yet. The royal family there was a mystical curse associated with it.

Sreebalippura

Sreebalippura is a rectangular corridor built of stone is believed to have included 10,000 labourers and over 100 elephants for six months to construct it. Sreebalippura is supported by 365 and a one quarter of pillars. Each pillar is a monolith.

The gold Kodi maram

The flagpole or kodimaram is 80ft tall which was initially made with teak wood, later converted to golden flagpole has Garuda Swami, the sacred bird who carries Lord Vishnu, is carved on the top of the pole.

Intricate Gopuram

The 35-metre high seven-storey Gopuram made of granite imprints a visual remembrance of the temple in each spectator’s mind. The 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu are depictedon the gopuram along with seven golden domes on the top. The opening on the ground floor has a grand doorway to enter the temple.

Archietectural marvel

The temple architecture is a fusion of Dravidian and Kerala style architecture. It is also known for its architectural marvel being creative achievements of the past in the fields of art, architecture, science, and engineering which cannot be compared to the present standards

The temple is said to have inspired by the Adi Kesava Perumal temple in Thiruvattar in Tamil Nadu. The deity of in both the temples are in reclining position.

Another marvellous architectural work is the Sapthaswara Mandapam supported by 28 balustrades of pillars its believed that the pillars on the four corners can produce musical notes when tapped.

The sacred Padmatheertham

Padmatheertham is one of the oldest water bodies in the city of Thiruvananthapuram and is the temple pond of the temple. This pond has been mentioned in several Hindu scriptures. Srimad Bhagavatha says that Balarama visited this Temple, bathed in Padmatheertham and made several offerings.

Beautiful Mural Paintings

The outer walls of the main sanctum are decorated with murals. The 18 feet long mural of the Ananthasayanam on the backside of the sanctum is termed as the largest one among the temple murals of Kerala, and was painted by Chalayil Kalahasti.

Thiruvambadi Sree Krishnaswamy Temple

Even though the Thiruvambadi Sree Krishna Swamy Temple is inside the main Temple walls, it enjoys the status of a separate Temple with separate flag-staff, sacred stones and its own rites and rituals. It is quite unusual. Here the presence of Sri Krishna in the form of Parthasarathi, is naturally luring. The outer walls of the temple are fully covered with lamps which is called Villaku Madom. Another significant and striking feature is the attractive Gaja Lakshmi carved on the top in granite.

Harrytinkers tips

The dress code has to be strictly followed otherwise the entry is prohibited.
You have to enter the temple barefoot
Only Hindus are allowed inside the temple
Gadgets are strictly prohibited
No photography
Try spending an hour inside the temple in order to explore all the above-mentioned interesting portions of the temple
The sound of waves can be heard from the pillars inside the temple.
The main sanctum is dimly lit and the idol is also dark in colour so you have to look closely to see the details of the idol
Visit in the early hours to get a peaceful darshan

One of the best Hindu temples in terms of Architecture, history, grandeur and spirituality
Harrytinkers

India, kerala

Neendakara fishing harbour : Kollam, Kerala

Posted on April 30, 2021April 22, 2021 by harrytinkers

Most of you must have been to an everyday fish market, but this experience is totally different because it’s Neendakara fishing harbour.

Neendakara fishing harbour is a magnificent fishing harbour in the coast of Ashtamudi lake. One can also witness the confluence of Ashtamudi lake and Arabian sea from the Neendakara bridge. Neendakara is the biggest fishing harbour in Kerala having the capacity to contain over 500 fishing boats at a time and is among the major sea ports in Kerala

How to reach

Nearest railway station: Kollam, about 9 km away

Nearest airport: Trivandrum International Airport is around 66 km away

How did we travel

We took a bus from Kollam city at 4 am to reach the harbour and from the entrance gate you need to walk a little inside the harbour and then you will enter the fish market. It took us almost an hour’s journey.

The experience

My teachers used to scream in the classroom saying ” classroom ko machli market bana rakha h” (the class room sounds like a fish market). I understood the meaning of the sentence clearly on this day.

There were thousands of people in the harbour, shouting, screaming bargaining, selling and buying fish. No one was bothered to have a look at the spectator who is watching them for the first time. The place was in so much chaos that I couldn’t hear my mother speaking even though she was just besides me.

The next thing I noticed was heaps of different varieties of fishes being placed like mountains for bidding. I wondered: How many fishes are there in the sea because this was just the scene of one fishing harbour in Kerala? It was just a day’s scene for me and one can imagine how many fishes the sea has in the entire universe.

As we entered the main harbour, we saw so many fishing boats arriving with tons and tons fishes. So, they have these big tanks inside their boats where the fishes are stored, which will be transferred to an even more huge container at the harbour. This is a very different experience!!! The different varieties of fishes are separated in the boat itself so that it’s absolutely ready for the selling process.

There were plenty of men who I assume were restaurant owners who were bidding on heaps of fishes. On the contrary there were few people stealing fishes from these heaps and selling it at a much cheaper price for the spectators like us.

I was amazed by the whole setup, the scenario and of course the fish mountains.
Well it was stinking like hell and what happened is, a fisherman was taking his fish basket on his head and by mistake his basket slipped and the water from his basket fell on me!!

I felt disgusted but the whole process of the struggle of these fishermen made me realise that this is their everyday job and they do it so much passion but still I was drenched with stinky fish water. (Advantage: I got the whole seat all for myself in the bus as no one wanted to sit near me !! not even my parents)

Well, the advantage of visiting this place if you are fish lover is; you can get plenty of fish at a very cheap price and you can have a close view of a process which each and every fishing harbour witnesses on an everyday basis. And to watch so many fishes of different shapes, sizes and colours will make you appreciate the mother nature for creating them all so unique 🤩

If you ever have a chance to witness this process please try and reach before 6 am because that’s when you can watch the whole process. If you are late then you might not even see the fishes because by 9 am the harbour is empty.

As a child all the images and scenes are stored in my memories and the only regret I have now is at that time I did not have a camera to capture this. Probably next time I would defianely capture some.

Neendakara Fishing Harbour made me realise that sometimes chaos has its own beauty.
Tinkers

India, kerala

The mouth watering Unniappams : Kottarakkara Mahaganapati Kshetram

Posted on April 9, 2021 by harrytinkers

My father belongs to south part of Kerala: Kollam. Every year during our summer vacations, we used to visit Kollam to meet my Paternal grandparents. The whole year me and my brother would be waiting for our summer holidays to visit our grandparents.

Every year during our visit to Kollam there would be some or the other relative who would have visited the Kottarakkara Mahaganapathi Kshetram and we would relish the yummy prasadam (the Unniappams) from the temple. The first memory which flashes in one’s mind is the Kottarakkara Unniappams and later the temple. Since those time we always wanted to visit the temple.

How to reach

In 2012 finally we got to visit this amazing temple. Kottarakkara is a small town in Kollam district and is 25 kms away from Kollam town and 80 kms from Thiruvananthapuram. The buses are well connecting and autorickshaws can also take you to your destination.

The deities of the temple are Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganesha, Lord Murugan, Lord Ayyappan, and Nagaraja. Even though the main deity is Lord Shiva, the main priority is given to his son Lord Ganesha. Kottarakkara Mahaganapathi Temple is one of the famous temples in Kollam district, Kerala. Actually, the main Idol is Lord Siva, but Ganapathy is famous here. The exact name of the temple was Kizhakkekara Siva Kshetram.

The Story

The Unniappams made here is very famous and it has a very different flavour to it.Unniappams , a sweet ghee-fried snack made with rice and bananas.

The story being: The first offering of the famous sculptor Perumthachan, who carved the idol of Mahaganapathi at Kottarakkara. was Koottappam.( six to seven Unniappams stringed together).

The Unniappams are made just in front of the Lord Ganapathy’s shrine, the holy fire is lit for making Unniappams. Moreover, it is only after the sanctum sanctorum is open that the uniappam’s are made. Raw rice, jaggery, ‘kadali’- a variety of banana and Ganapathy’s favourite, ghee and sugar are the ingredients used for making unniappam.

Right from dawn to dusk, Unniappams are made and all of these together are made as an offering to the Lord at dusk. Later on, it is distributed freely to the devotees. This offering is known as Udayasthamana Pooja. The heavy rush of devotees to Kottarakkara Ganapathy Temple speaks volumes of Lord Ganapathy’s love, care and concern towards them.

As soon as you enter the temple a sweet smell of Unniappams is sure to tempt you. The Unniappams are kept in huge cane baskets and offered to Ganapathy is Urli (bronze vessel).

Its so mesmerising to watch the Unniappams being made in front of the shrine that you will surely forget to offer your prayers to Lord Ganapathy.
Harrytinkers