Sri Vilwadrinatha Temple Thiruvilwamala: An abode of Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman, Ganapathy and Ayyappan

Kerala, the small coastal state looks to be a bundle of never-ending series of surprises, shocks and wonders. If North Kerala dominated by the Muslim community boasts of a region cynosure of luxurious mosques, so are the Central and Southern parts with heritage Hindu shrines and churches. The only difference is that the good old temples, but the Guruvayur, Shabarimala and Padmanabhswamy temples continue to remain old fashioned. However, the mosques and churches wear a modern look in terms of structures and grandeur.

Faithfuls galore and so do Comrades: But what continues to remain a perplexing puzzle is that despite people belonging to all three three faiths adhering to their religious practices and beliefs also become hardcore comrades when it comes to politics. In spite of sharp differences in the public stances, there is no dearth of intra-religious marriages which keep happening throughout the year contradictory to the divergent views prevailing across the country.

An abode of Rama, Lakshmana, Ganapathy, Hanuman and Ayyappan: All religious places in the country have local legendary tales of their own and are so artistically and curiously woven that whether you believe in them are not, they appear very interesting when you don't mind lending your ears. The Sree Vilwadrinatha Temple at Thiruvilwamala is no exception in the trend. It is an ancient shrine surrounded by the historic and legendary Bharathapuzha and Gayathripuzha rivers on either side at Thiruvilwamala, located around 30 kilometres from the Palakkad district headquarters and in the border area of Thrissur district. The popular shrine is known for being an abode of Rama, Lakshmana, Ganapathy, Hanuman and Ayyappan.

Town renowned by the Sri Vilwadrinatha Temple: In a way, Thiruvilwamala is well-known due to the Sri Vilwadrinatha temple on the Vilwadri hills, an abode of Sri Vilwadrinatha, the principal deity of the place with more than 30 big and small temples. The pilgrimage centre represents the ideals of the religion, rituals and culture of the people.

Sunrays touch the feet twice a year: This temple is said to have been built several centuries ago with two shrines on opposite sides under the same sanctum sanctorum facing one another in the East and West directions. Another interesting and mind-boggling aspect of the place is that if the sun's rays touch the lotus feet of the eastern shrine in the morning, the same day evening during sunset, the rays touch the divine feet of the western shrine! Perhaps it would be an interesting study on how the architects of that time could foresee the movement of the planets in the galaxy and arrive at an exact conclusion to ensure sunrays touch the deity's feet on the same day.

Our ancestors were more intelligent: Dwelling on the strange practice in the Sri Vilwadrinatha shrine, Basavaraj Kadkol, a veteran architect well-known for his aesthetic taste in designing residential units says-"The sun rays touching the feet of different deities in the morning and evening the same day sounds interesting. However, at the same time, such a feat can only be achieved by observing the movements of the sun in a continuous manner and over a period of time. Well, our ancestors were more intelligent than us despite being devoid of the present-day equipment and technology to measure distance and time. This phenomenon has been aptly proved at the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur, wherein you can notice the planetary movements along with the sun and the moon".

Lord Shiva handing over the Chaturbahu idol to Parusharam: According to the temple authorities, apart from the unique and wonderful architecture, the unique features like the scenic beauty and surroundings happen to be the main cause of its adoration by great sages and saints from time to time. Also, the history of the temple revealed in the scriptures mentions that Lord Shiva handed over the divine Chaturbahu idol of Maha Vishnu worshipped by himself to his disciple Sri Parusharama for consecration in a very suitable place. On finding Thiruvilwamala as the divine place for the temple, Sri Parusharama performed the consecration facing the East.

Lord Vishnu also settles down: The temple's legendary tales keep enthralling and one claims that, at the same time frame, sage Amalaka, son of the saint Kashyapa was engrossed in penance in a nearby place known as Saraswathi kundu by chanting the mantras of 'Tharaka namam'. He was called Amalaka for consuming only gooseberry (Amalakam) as his staple food. Impressed by his devotion, Lord Vishnu grants him a divine darshan along with Goddess Sreedevi and Lakshmidevi. But the Maharshi was not contented with the darshan alone insisting Lord Vishnu settle down to bless mankind. The almightly heeded the ardent disciple's prayers emerging as a self-made (swayambhu) idol on the western side.

Devotees' belief led to Rama and Lakshmana temples: Strangely, in due course, the devotees shared a belief that the eastern shrine was of Lakshamana while the one on the western side was of Rama. In this way, the place evolved into an important pilgrimage centre of Rama along with Lakshmana. Apart from Rama and Lakshmana, you can also find sanctum sanctorums for Hanuman, Ganapathy and Ayyappan. Although the shrine has come to be known for Rama and Lakshmana temples, all offerings and rituals prescribed for a Vishnu temple are being followed here. A special offering of a garland of vadas or vada mala to Anjaneya is quite famous here.

Punarjani Cave: This place is also known for the Punarjani Cave. People believe entering the cave by scrawling on the auspicious Guruvayur Ekadashi day will absolve them from their inherent bad deeds or papas to seek salvation. The temple has two main festivals namely the Niramala in the Malayalam month Kani (September) considered to be the first temple festival of central Kerala.

Thiruvilwamala Ekadasi: Another festival Thiruvilwamala Ekadasi is being celebrated during the Kumbha masam (February and March). When the region was under the regime of the Cochin Royal Dynasty, the temple boasted of Paddy fields yielding around one lakh kg Paddy per year helping to do the daily rituals and poojas. But now the temple comes under the Cochin Devasom Board while the rituals, poojas and festivals are being conducted with the active support and participation of the Kshetra Upadeshaka Samiti with liberal donations from the public.

Mentioned in the Narada Purana: The localities while explaining the significance of the temple make it a point of its glory and history also finding mention in the 'Narada Purana'. From that logic, the temple has existed since the Vedic period. Unfortunately, the records about the rituals and other details got engulfed in the fire mishap of Malayala Kolla varsham 1036.

Donations sought for renovation: Another major fire mishap on 23-01-2018 destroyed the Vilakku Madom and some parts of Chuttambalam. The temple is already facing problems with maintenance and destruction due to natural causes. Due to the efforts of the Devasom, the Kshetra Upadeshaka Samiti, devotees and the general public, renovation works on the affected parts have been completed. Still, the other age-old portions demand urgent attention. Hence the temple committee has appealed for liberal contributions from the general public. The donations can be made to the following temple committee account number:

Account Number: 38659582443
IFSC Code: SBIN 0070294
State Bank of India
Thiruvilwamala Branch

-Manohar Yadavatti