I am writing about Pangode Hanuman temple for the FIRST TIME. If available let
Mr. Rajaram post it. I would have written about Vikas Bhavan/OTC Hanuman
temple. Let Mr Rajaram verify and write.
Gopalakrishnan
On Thursday 14 August, 2025 at 07:39:22 am IST, Rajaram Krishnamurthy
<[email protected]> wrote:
quora a copy paste in iyer and one year old emails repeated again as c&P. This
one came up on 28 8 24 KR IRS 14825
On Wed, 13 Aug 2025 at 18:56, 'gopala krishnan' via Thatha_Patty
<[email protected]> wrote:
SREEHANUMAN SWAMY TEMPLE, PANGODE,TRIVANDRUM-KERALA-COMPILED
Dear friends,
Today my posting is about the Hanuman temple at Pangode military campus area
inTrivandrum. After joining Trivandrum Telecom training centre in 1991, within
a few days whilepassing through Pazhavangadi Ganapathy temple I had a rare
sight. Military persons opening the hundiesand collecting deposited cash.
Later, on enquires I could make out the famous temple ismaintained by Madras
Military Regiment. I could understand there aresimilar temples in many places.
One of them is at Pangode Trivandrum.
While at Jabalpur foran advance training , I visited similar Ganesha temple
within the militarycampus , one KM away from training centre at Jabalpur. There
we could enterdetails before going to the centre.
History of thetemple pretty long. Ihave reduced to the minimum possible. There
is no separate legend about deities.
Hope a divine reading
Gopalakrishnan 13-08-2025
History
Padmanabhapuram in the present state of Tamil Nadu was thethen capital of the
erstwhile kingdom of Travancore. The rise of modern Thiruvananthapuram began
with itsaccession by MarthandaVarma as king in 1729 asthe founding ruler of the
princely state of Travancore.
During the reign of Marthanda Varma in 1745 the capital of the kingdom was
shifted from Padmanabhapuram toThiruvananthapuram. From then on, the city of
Thiruvananthapuram hadseen expansions in all fields like art, culture,
education, armed training,etc.
The city had been named after the name of presiding deity ofthis kshetra Sri
Anantha Padmanabha Swamy. The kings of Travancore wish to beknown as custodians
of the State ruled by Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy. They had surrendered
themselves toSri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy as a dutiful servant.
King Marthanda Varma(1706–7th Jul 1758) was king of Travancore from 1729 until
he died in 1758. He is known for beating the kings of European armed forces at
the 1741Battle of Colachel against the Dutch. He was instrumental inexpanding
the Travancore kingdom from the conventional domain of the kingdom.
The Nair Brigade
Without mention of the Nair brigade, the success story ofMarthanda Varma will
be incomplete. Nairs were awarrior community in the region. The Nair Brigade
was the army of the erstwhilekingdom of Travancore and was responsible for the
security of Travancorekingdom. As the maker of modern Travancore Sri Marthanda
Varma had modernizedthe army of the kingdom in which the Nair brigade played a
good part. Hedefeated the Dutch commanders to help modernise the warfare. Later
years Nair Brigade succeededin defending the kingdom against the invading army
of Tipu Sultan of Mysore inA.D. 1791. In the war near the Nedumkotta, Tippu
Sultan lost his swordin the war with the Nairs of Travancore. The Travancore
army was renamed theTravancore Nair Brigade in 1818.
Pallayam
When the capital ofTravancore kingdom was shifted from Padmanabhapuram to
Thiruvananthapuram byKing Marthada Varma, the Nair Brigade also
shifted.Initially, theheadquarters was moved from the old capital to the new.
Then it was shifted toKollam and later brought back to Thiruvananthapuram. The
place where their HQwas in Thiruvananthapuram is known today by the name
‘Pallayam/Palayam’. ‘Pallayam’ in Malayalam means‘cantonment’.
The building of the Headquarters of the Nair Brigade ofTravancore located in
Pallayam/Palayam is now the Legislative Museum of Kerala.
When the Nair Brigade shifted from Padmanabhapuram toThiruvananthapuram,
theybrought with them some deities of worship to the new capital. One such
deity is Sri HanumanSwamy brought by them.It is well known that army soldiers
get inspiration by worshipping Lord SriHanuman. Sri Hanuman Swamy at Pallayam
was worshipped by the then brigadepersonnel are now popular among the present
devotees as ‘OTC Hanuman Swamytemple’. (OTC-OFFICERSTRAINING CENTRE). The place
is also known as Vikas Bhavan.
My note- Telecom training centre was very close to thisOTC hanuman temple, at
PMG Junction during my telecom training in 1966 on the leased old
TrivandrumEngineering college. Latershifted to own building at Kaimanam,
Trivandrum. Later while working in DOT office as AGM, I used to visit the
temple often.
The troops used to worship this idol whenever they were onduty there. By 1840
AD, they took this idol to the garrison at Cantonment. In 1940 this idol of
Lord Siva wasshifted to Pangode. As stated, earlier Sri Hanuman Swamy's idol
wasunder worship at the Fort Area by the troops of the Nair Brigade before
beingbrought here.
Shifting of Pallayamto Pangode
As the city was expanding so also the brigade, with the time the brigade was to
be moved out ofpallayam. It was decided to move the brigade to a new location
Pangode, which is locatedeast of Pallayam. Accordingly, the garrison was
shifted to the new location atPangode in 1935. As a matter of practice, it was
decided to establish a newplace of worship there. Membersof garrison wanted Sri
Hauman Swamy who was under worship at pallayam to bemoved along with them to
Pangode. However, there was enormous resistance from the locals. Subsequently,
after the tantricadvice, Sri Hanuman Swamy was not moved from pallayam, but
instead, a paintingdepicting all the features of the Lord was taken for worship
at Pangode.
Subsequently, an idol ofLord Hanuman Swamy worshipped near the Padmanabhaswamy
temple was shifted to Pangode and installed.
Shifting withinPangode complex
Originally when the brigade moved to Pangode, the ‘place ofworship’ [Sri
Hanuman Swamy ambalam] was located just outside the main gate ofthe HQ91
Infantry Brigade.
After the establishment of the War Memorial adjacent to theSri Hanuman Swamy
Temple complex, the Lord expressed through a Deva Prasna toshift the idols to
another suitable place. Search for a suitable location within the brigade
complexwas done and it was zeroed down to the present location close to Station
Work Shop EME facing the Thirumala-PTP Nagar road in 2001.
New Complex of Temple
Lt.Gen AK Chopra colonel of the Madras regiment laid thefoundation for the new
Sri Hanuman Swamy temple on 17th November 2006. From 30th June2011, all
religious ceremonies for shifting idols to the new complex wereconducted. And
on 10th July 2011 the punar pradishtai[re-installation] of idols were
conducted. On 13th July 2011 Kumbabishekam wasconducted.
History of Lord Siva
The history of Lord Siva traces back to a period of 175years. In one of the
annual exercises in 1836 of the Nair Brigade at Aaruvaamozhi (Aramboli,
presently inKanyakumari district) they found an idol of Lord Siva under a
peepaltree. The troops used to worship this idol whenever they were on duty
there. By 1840 AD, they took this idol tothe garrison at Cantonment. In 1940
this idol of Lord Siva was shifted to Pangode. As statedearlier Sri Hanuman
Swamy's idol was under worship at the Fort Area by thetroops of the Nair
Brigade before being brought here.
Presently this temple and Pazhavangadi Ganapathy areunder the same military
administration.
Present complex
A rare mixture of the rural and the urban, Pangode is located midwaybetween
Vazhuthacaud and Thirumala in Thiruvananthapuram.
In the south western side of Pangode military area, there wasan ancient idol of
Lord Krishna which was in a state of neglect. Since thisidol had some damages,
it was removed and immersed in the sea in 1986 as perthe thanthric advice after
transferring the powers to the idol of Lord Vishnu.In 1988 the idol of Lord
Ganapathy and Nagaas were also installed besideschanging the peetham of Lord
Siva.
Although Sri Hanuman Swami temple is within the militarycomplex, still the
general public can easily access the temple and offer theirprayers.
Architecture
This temple typically resembles the architecture of Keralatemples. With lots of
trees and plants around, the temple provides a sense ofhaving arrived at
Kadalivanam of Swami.
Temple complex
On entering the temple, anidol of Hanuman swami to our left welcomes us. Before
entering the temple, people worship and docircumambulation [pradakshina] for
this particular idol and then enter thetemple. This cool open space, darshan of
this particular idol, and silence inthe atmosphere itself will calm the mind
and prepare the devotee for a peacefulexperience.
Proceeding further weenter the main Ambalam and can have a darshan of Moolavar
Hanuman swami in themain sannidhi straight away. Thetemple has a serene
atmosphere as that of an ashram conducive to dyanam andprayer. Thursdays are
very special in this temple rather thanTuesdays and Saturdays.The moment we
step inside the temple we are carried away by the tranquilatmosphere. One could
feel the power of Swami.
Sri Hanuman Swamy
He is in a standing posture with his right hand showingabhaya mudra and his
left hand resting on his hip. A copper mace is placedbeside him. The tail is
above the head with a bell. Swami is always smeared with butter. His eyes
aredirectly looking at the devotee and His kataksham falls directly on
thedevotee.
There are five main idols– Sri Hanuman Swamy, Sri Siva, Sri Vishnu, Sri
Ganapathy, and Sri Nagaraja inthe temple complex. Kindly note that all these
deities are the maindeities and there is no 'upa-devatha' in this temple.
While Sri Ganapathy and Sri Nagaraja pradishta were done in1988, Sri Siva of
this temple is much older(175 years)
Poojas
All poojas are done by Tulu Brahmins. There is no thanthri. Retired military
persons are there employed in variousjobs.
MOST IMPORTANT SPECIALPOOJAS OF THE TEMPLE
PunahprathishtaAnniversary Festival-It is to be celebrated every year
Jun-Jul(Midhunam-Chothi).
Sahsrakalasam-Sahasrakalasa pooja is to becelebrated every year Jul-Aug
(Karkkidakam-Navami) and (Karkkidakam-Deshami).
Leksharchana-It is to be celebrated every yearJul-Aug (Karkkidakam-Navami) and
(Karkkidakam-Deshami).
Hanuman Jayanthi Festival- Festival is to be celebrated everyyear Dec-Jan
(Dhanu-Moolam).
Special poojas for otherdeities are as follows:-
(a) Mahashivarathiri - Feb-Mar
(b) Sree rama Navami - Apr-May
(c) Vishu Kani - Apr
(d) Sree Vinayaka chathurthi - Aug-Sep
(e) Sree Krishna Jayanthi - Aug-Sep
(f) Mahanavami - Sep-Oct
(g) Ayilya chirappu - Oct-Nov
(h) Thrikarthika - Dec-Jan
Temple Timing.
Morning - 05.00 AM to 10.45 AM
Daily (except Thursday)
Thursday - 05.00 AM to 12.00 PM
Evening - 05.00 pM to 08.30 PM
Address of the temple
Sree Hanuman Swamy Temple
Pangode,Thirumala P.O,Trivandrum-695006
Tele No : 0471-2352197
Location
Pangode is locatedmidway between Vazhuthacaud and Thirumala in
Thiruvananthapuram. Pangode is ata distance of around 12 kmfrom the Trivandrum
International Airport and 6 km from the ThiruvananthapuramCentral Railway
Station and Bus station.
Specialty
The area is significant since it houses the Pangode militarycamp. The Gurdwara,
Mosque and Hanuman temple in the camppremises are frequented by soldiers and
civilians alike.
There is also a military hospital which caters to the needsof the soldiers.
Pangode Kendriya Vidyalaya is located inside the militarycamp and it is one of
the best schools in the city.
The camp area is one of the favourite haunts of early morningjoggers and other
exercise conscious people of the locality.
The Killi river meanders through this region, blessing bothsides, en route to
Jagathy.
The office of the Asianet, the prime cable televisionnetwork, is located at
Pangode.
Pangode is blessed by the presence of three famous temples, Kavil Bhagavathi
Temple, Sri SasthaTemple and the Edapazhanji Subramanya Temple nearby.
Offerings
Lord Ganesh and Lord Shiva are the other deities worshippedin the temple
complex. Vada Mala and butter are the main offerings at thetemple.
Administration
Pangode temple premisesare maintained beautifully by the army and remains as
one of the shady,beautiful spots of Thiruvananthapuram.
Access points
Trivandrum International Airport (7 km) andThiruvananthapuram Central Railway
Station (4 km) are the nearby major accesspoints
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