Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Pilgrim

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is situated about one kilometer from Thiruvananthapuram city centre and 3 Kms from the airport. This temple is just 1.5 kms from the famous Attukal Bagawathy temple and people who visit this temple make sure that they worship at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple also. It is just walking distance from the central railway station and bus stand.

About Padmanabhaswamy Temple

It is believed that you have to worship in three temples to complete the full cycle of worship because the head of the deity of Lord Vishnu resting on a hooded serpent is at Thiruvallam Shiva Temple and the feet is at Trippapur Shiva Temple and only the body you can see in Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. All the poojas here is conducted by Tulu Brahmins only. The biggest festival here is the Murajapam and Bhadra Deepam which comes every six years apart from the two annual festivals. The annual festival culminate in a grand processions of three deities Padmanabha, Narasimha and Krishna and taken to the Shankumugham Beach for sacramental cleansing. Murajapam festival is the chanting of Rig, Yajur and Sama Veda mantras for 56 days by Vedic pundits and concluded by Bhadra Deepam by lighting hundred thousand lamps. The architecture of the temple is known for its bronze and stone works and the beautiful paintings and murals adorning the walls.

History or Myth

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is an 8th century abode of Lord Vishnu situated inside east fort In Thiruvananthapuram. This temple is one of the 108 sacred Vishnu temples in India. The deity of this temple is Lord Vishnu, reclining on the hooded Serpent. Marthanda Varma the erstwhile king of Travancore renovated this temple which is the present day Gopuram structure. In 1750 Marthanda Varma dedicated his Kingdom to Lord Vishnu with a vow that all his descendents will rule on behalf of the Lord. Today Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is considered as the richest temple in the world.