PERUNNASUBRAMONIA SWAMY TEMPLE- KOTTAYAM DISTRICT- KERALA-COMPILED Dear friends,
Perunna Sri Subramonia swamy temple is located in the large town of Keralacalled Changanaserry which is 23 km south from Kottayam Muncipality. The templeis a pilgrim centre which has its own glory and greatness, mainly because ofthe divinity enshrined in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and the uniquecharm of the idol installed in it. This templeis one of the most famous Muruga temples in the state, and is a classic example of the Kerala style ofarchitecture, having many decorative murals and pieces of art. This is thevenue of the world-famous Thai Pooya Kavadiyattam ( Kavadi) festival celebratedannually from January to February. The temple is visited by Mahatma Gandhi. Perunna is the Headquartersof Nair Service Society in Kerala. While travelling from Trivandrum, Perunna is before Chenganassery. I had myeducation in NSS Modern High school Pandalam and NSS College, Pandalam, Today my posting is about the Subramanya temple in Perunna. Hope a divine reading. Gopalakrishnan 11-08-2025 Legend There is a storybehind this temple. It seems in a village called Uppizhi in Kerala there was a great Subrahmanya devoteecalled Kumaran Namboodiri. Like all other Keralaites he was a great devotee of PalaniMurugan. Once when he went to the Palalni temple, it seems he felt home sick.It seems Lord Muruga came in his dream and told him that “You can find my statue in the riverKodumthurai. You recover that and consecrate it in Perunna”. Kumaran Namboodiri obeyed the order of God and the Perunna temple was established. History The idol was consecrated in the year 753 AD in the tenth day of Meenam month. It seems that as soon as the idol wasconsecrated, it was completely coveredin Sun light. Every year this day is celebrated as the Consecration Day. Every year the same miracle of Sun covering the statue happens. Architecture This 1200-yearold temple has an idol of Lord Subramanya with unique charm. The templealso fascinates devotees and pilgrims with its charming Kerala stylearchitecture. Many decorative murals and other pieces of arts are on the wallsof this temple. Perunna inscriptions Inscriptions in Vatteshuthu alphabet can be seen at the westgate of the temple. These are believed to be written in the 10th century,during the rule of Kulasekhara Koyiladhikari. Temple tank There is huge tank in this temple which is believed tocontain large number of Saligrama stones. Chief Deity The Form of Subrahmanaya is that of furious Deva Senathipathi with the Vel placed in downward direction .People believe that this form wasassumed immediately after the LordSubrhamana killed Tharakasura. The idol is five feet tall and is consecrated on a lotus platform. It ismade in black stone. No similar idol is known to exist elsewhere. Therefore, the Perunna Sree Subramanya Swamy Temple becomesa temple that is separate and of utmost importance from other Subramanyatemples. It is also believed to be a very special and enemy-killing . This is the only temple where Subrahmanya Swami or Lord Murugan isseen in furious form. The idol of Lord Subrahmanya is five feet tall made in blackstone and is consecrated on a lotus platform. In the temple, the furious formof Subrahmanya Swami is worshipped. He faces east as seen in most of thetemples. Sub deities The sub-deities of the temple are Lord Krishna,Mahadeva, Mahaganapati, Sastha, Naga gods, and Rakshas. Poojas and Nivedyam Poojas are performed to theGod five times a day.The God is anointed with milk every day. The pooja (rituals) are done byNambudiri Brahmin priests. Five Edangazhi(A measure of Kerala-oneedangazhi slightly more than one kg) rice is cooked every day and is offered to the God. Aravanai Payasam is offered to the God. Tuesday is considered as aspecial day to worship God here. Festivals Annual festival- The temple is famous for a festivalnamed Pallivetta which is celebrated in the month of November/December. Karthigai festival, Thai poosam , Skanda Sashti , SuraSamharam etc are celebrated in this temple. During Kartigai festival which iscelebrated for thirteen days. “Thypooyamfestival occurring in the Malayalam month Makaram (January-February),the day of the star Pooyam around Pournami (Full Moon) is celebrated asThypooyam. There was a demon named Tharakasuran who was troubling the Rishisand Saints. Lord Muruga was called by his parents Lord Shiva and Parvati andgiven the job of destroying the asuran. Lord Muruga set off with the blessingsof his parents, to destroy the demon. He carried twelve weapons, eleven ofwhich were given by his father Lord Shiva and the 'Vel' given by his motherParvati. Lord Muruga destroyed Tharakasuran on the Pooyam Nakshatram day in theTamil month of Thai and hence Thypooyam is celebrated in all Murugan temples. Generally, people take a vow to offer the Lord a Kavadifor the sake of tiding over a great calamity. No doubt, the worldly object is achieved for the devoteewho takes the Kavadi. After the ceremony he fells that his inner spiritualbeing gets awakened. This is also a method that ultimately leads to the supremestate of devotion. The Kavadi has various shapes and sizes, from the simpleshape of a hawker's storehouse (a wooden stick with two baskets at each end,slung across the shoulder) to the costly palanquin structure, profuselyflower-bedecked and decoratively interwoven with peacock feathers. The two baskets hanging at each end of the Kavadi containmilk, rose water, chandanam, tender coconut water, bhasmam, Sesame oil(Enna)etcthat the devotee has vowed to offer the Lord. The more devout among them, and especially those who do itas a Sadhana, collect these articles by begging (bhiksha). They travel on footfrom village to village, and beg from door to door. The devotees conduct poojafor Idumban before starting the bhiksha. Some keen devotees undertake to walk barefoot from home toone of the shrines of Lord Subramanya, bearing the Kavadi all the way andcollecting materials for the offering. The Kavadi-bearer is required to observe various rulesbetween the time he takes up the Kavadi, and the day of the offering. He has toperform elaborate ceremonies at the time of assuming the Kavadi, and at thetime of offering it to the Lord. He wears saffron-coloured cloth and carry aconical scarlet cap and a cane silver-capped at both ends. The Kavadi-bearervery often observes silence. He observes strict celibacy. Only pure, vegetarianfood is taken; he abstains from all sorts of intoxicating drinks and drugs. Hethinks of God all the time. Many of the Kavadi-bearers, especially those who do it as aspiritual Sadhana, used to impose various forms of self-torture earlier. Now itis banned The Kavadi-bearer enjoys a high state of religious fervour.His very appearance is awe-inspiring; there is divine radiance on his face.Devotees often experience the state of feeling united with the Lord. >From the time immemorial,the thaipooya kavadi of perunna temple has become the >place for miracles. As the kavadi festival hascompetitive spirit ( two areas >namely padinjattum bhagam and kizhakku- west andeast) both groups are trying >their very best to make their kavadi better. Themajor competitive events in >this kavadi festivals are chenda melam and decorated elephants raisingheads. Opening to all Hindus In the year 1936, for the first time in Kerala , thistemple was opened for all the devotees by the Travancore king. Hearing this incident Mohandas Gandhi during his first visit to Keralacame to the temple and worshipped the Muruga. A grand ceremony and meeting wereconducted at the east gate of the temple then. Address and phonenumber of the temple Perunna Subrahmanya Swamy Temple Changanassery-686102 Phone : +91-0481-2424994 My note- About sevenyears back the MC road has been widened so that buses up and down to Trivandrum can run in separate lanes.I am not sure about divider other than at important locations. How To Reach By Bus-Perunna Private Bus Station, about 1.5 km away By Flight-Cochin International Airport, about 111 km By Train-Changanassery Railway Station, about 2 km away Frequent buses pass through Perunna in the MC road with in afrequency of 10 minutes maximum. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/2033976438.2616900.1754898229176%40mail.yahoo.com.
