Day 1: All temples within 20 Kms radius from Chenganoor.

1. Mahadeva Temple
2. Sri Thiruvanvandoor Temple
3. Sri Trippuliyoor Temple
4. Aranmula Parthasarathi Temple
5. Thiruvalla Temple
6. Trikkodithanam Temple

Mahadeva Temple: It is believed that Mahadeva at this temple is a manifestation of Lord Vadakkunathan in Thrissur. After paying due respects to the destroyer, Shiva, I proceed to Thiruvanvandoor temple. This temple is believed to be built by one of the 5 pandava brothers, Nakula during their pilgrimage to Kerala after making Parikshit the King. The deity Kamalanathan is portrayed in a standing posture; the name Pambaniyappan which also refers to Kamalanathan arises from the fact the river Pampa cicrles the town.

Temple by Bhima:
Trippuliyoor Temple: Legend has it that Bhima the Pandava prince built this temple and worshipped Vishnu here. A colorful legend regarding the saptarishis and a great famine that occurred in this area is associated with this temple. The food offerings made at the Tiruppuliyur temple are vast in magnitude. At least 400 measures of rice are used in the preparation of special offerings, acknowledging the hearty appetite associated with Bheema the builder of the temple.

Since this was the day before the New Year in Kerala, temples were expected to be open for a longer time.

Temple by Arjuna:

Aranmula is on the banks of river Pamba and is famous for snake boat races. Legend has it that Arjuna built this temple, to expiate for the sin of having killed Karna on the battlefield, against the dharma of killing an unarmed enemy. It is also believed that Vishnu (here) revealed the knowledge of creation to Bhrama , from whom the Madhukaitapa demons stole the Vedas. There is yet another legend associated with Parthasarathy here. On the ninth dayof the battle of Kurukshetra, the Kauravas reigned supreme under the leadership of Bheeshma, when krishna motivated Arjuna to take initative and vanquish his foe. Upon his hesitating to do so, Krishna jumped down in rage, and took up his discus; seeing this sight Bheeshma surrendered to him and Arjuna beseeched him not to kill Bheeshma, as it would bave been against Krishna's vow to take up arms in his battle. It is believed that it is this image of Krishna that is enshrined here, with a discus. It is from this shrine that jewels for Sabarimala deity leave as a procession every year in the month of January.

While we stood in the temple to get the glimpse of the deity the tin sheets radiated heat and rivulets of sweat was flowing down my ribs and cheek bones. We got to see the Ucchi kala pooja at AaranmulaThey offer a special kind of Payasam (pudding) to the deity and it is distributed between 11.45 am and noon. There was a long queue waiting to get portions of the pudding, we were blessed to get a piece of that pudding offered.

After visiting Aranmula we came back to the rest for the afternoon. It is very difficult to find vegetarian restaurants in Kerala. Beef and bird was available in plenty. We decided to have some fruits and couple of glasses of milk for lunch. At 3.45 pm when we left Chenganoor the sky was overcast and a few drizzles came down hard. We expected the summer rain to bring some relief but it fizzled out. We proceeded towards Thiruvalla.

Thiruvalla: Vallabha is portrayed as bearing a conch, a discus and a lotus. The Sudarshana Chakram seen through the west cardinal door of the sanctum is held in worship and is believed to have been installed in the 13th century.

Sandalwood paste is offered as the prasadam in the Vallabha shrine, while vibhooti or the sacred ash is offered as prasadam in the Chakra sign on the other side of the sanctum. The flagstaff of this temple is a monolithic structure of black granite 50 feet in height. At the top of this staff is an image of Garuda. Interestingly, devotees sponsor kathakali performances as their offering to the temple. Those whose prayers are answered offer to have a performance arranged here, as a token of acknowledgement and as a gesture of support of the arts.

Unlike other temples in India were arthis are performed frequently, here arthis are performed only during a specific worship times. A musical instrument of different kind (Chandi) other than the traditional nadhaswaram (wind instrument) is used during various worship rituals. Whether you are economically well off or not or whether you are a VIP or a common man the priest drop a small banana leaf with smeared sandal paste and flowers in devotees’ hands. Small cups of oil and ghee are sold that can be given at the sannadhis to be offered to the lamp in the sanctorum. Prasadams or offerings made at the temple are very different. From sweet pongal, a mixture of aval (variety of rice) and jaggery, sautéed coconut shreds with jaggery are some delicious offerings made to the God and distributed to devotees. I never saw anyone begging for alms outside the temple or anywhere in Kerala. I don’t know if people are prosperous or they are happy, contented and work hard to earn money.

Thirukodithanam:

Temple by Sahadeva: Legend has it that this temple was built by Sahadavan of the Pandavas. It is also believed that this village was ruled by Rukmangatan, a king of the Surya dynasty. Several murals (possibly from the 17th century) adorn the walls of the sanctum, portraying images of Shiva Tandavam, Karatarjuniyam, Vinayaka, Sasta, Yoganarasimha, Rama Pattabhishekam, Mahisasuramardhini, Mohini, Venugopala, Anantasayanam etc. There are also sannadhi’s for Narasimhamurthy and Dakshinamurthy.

Temples in South India usually have a square or a rectangular Garbha Graham, while temples in Kerala have a combination of circular and rectangular shaped garbha graham. The wood work here is of great importance, and it gives the essential verve and character to the Kerala temple silhouette. The inner skeletal framework of the temple is of wood, although the base and the structure above are of granite and laterite respectively. A flight of stairs lead to the garbhagraham (sanctum sanctorum) and is sanctum is cylindrical in shape. The pillars in the temple have lot less carving which is found in other regions in the country, they are flat and plain. The central sanctum of a Keralite temple is referred to as the Sree Kovil. It is surrounded by a cloistered prakara, pierced at one or more cardinal points with a Gopuradwara.

The cloistered prakaram has a namaskara mandapam located directly in front of the sanctum. This prakaram also houses subsidiary shrines. A kitchen is located in the south eastern corner of the cloistered prakaram. We can do a complete circle (parikram or pradhakshinam) only in the Sri Veli (outer sanctorum) and not in the inner sanctorum. Another distictive feature of Keralite temples is the use of vilakku maadam, or the multi-tiered brass lamps in front of temples. Lakshadeepam is a spectacular celebration of traditional lighting where tiers of small oil lamps lining the outer walls of the inner prakaram are lit.

Having covered 3 of the 5 temples built by Pandavas we drove 60 kms north to reach Ernakulam. It rained for an hour earlier in the evening at Ernakulam and the city had cooled down a lot. As we drove into the city hoardings and bill boards hit us hard. Chennai will definitely have to share the “Billboard City” title with Cochin. We took refuge at Karun’s house that night and the air-conditioned room felt like heaven after running around all day long. It was Vishu the following morning and after a quick pooja we left the home by 4.45 am.