 |
| Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Trivandrum |
The Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple is one of my favorite temples, mainly
because I lived around the temple for so many years and the festivals of
the temple were my childhood fantasies. The notable festival is the
Aaarattu festival and Navarathri festival during which we used to
regularly visit. The city of
Thiruvananthapuram received its name from the temple - Thiru Anantha Puram, the Adobe of Lord Anantha Padmanabha.
The temple is built in Dravidian style different from many Kerala temples. In fact many temples in Trivandrum are built in Dravidian style (see my post about
Attukal Temple, Trivandru
m). Padmanabaswamy Temple's history dates back to 8th Century CE and was rebuilt in 18th Century by Marthanda Varma the then King of
Travancore. He also dedicated the Travancore kingdom to the God and then ruled the kingdom on behalf of the God. The temple is situated inside a fort which also housed many government buildings of Travancore Kingdom. The fort had 4 main entrances on four directions. In recent times, the fort has deteriorated due to heavy commercialization and encroachment. Not all the parts of the fort are being maintained properly.
 |
| East Fort, Trivandrum |
The entrance on the east side called "East Fort" is the main entrance from the city to the temple. Many parts of the fort are under the maintenance of Archeological Survey of India mainly the East Fort. East fort is also a major bus station for local buses (called "City Buses"). You can get buses to east fort from any place of the city.
 |
| The Main Entrance, Padmanabhaswamy Temple |
The temple is located straight across when you enter via the East Fort. The sacred pond "Padmatheertha Kulam" is situated next to the temple. Entry to the pond is restricted to maintain the cleanliness of the pond.
 |
| Padmatheertha Pond, Padmanabhaswamy Temple |
To enter the temple, devotees have to wear traditional Kerala dresses. Men should not wear shirt and should use dhotis. Women should wear sarees. Pants and Shirts are not allowed. For those who come from outside, these are available on rent near the temple.
 |
| North Gate, Padmanabhaswamy Temple |
Within the temple, the architecture is more resembling to the Kerala temples and you can feel a calming ambiance in there. The temple has 4 entrances much like the fort. The main entrance is on the east side of the temple. There are three other entrances on the other three sides of the temple. The other gates of the temple also depicts Kerala architecture different from its main entrance. The temple's outer wall is built like a fort and protects the temple.
 |
| West Gate, Padmanabhaswamy Temple |
 |
| South Gate, Padmabhaswamy Temple |
 |
| Temple outer wall, near South Gate |
 |
| West Fort, Trivandrum |
 |
| Vettimurichan Kotta (Fort) situated besides the East Fort provides entry to vehicles crossing the fort |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Provide your comments about this post