VAMANAMOORTHYTEMPLE, THRIKKAKARA, ERNAKULAM DISTRICT-KERALA STATE- COMPILED
Dear friends,
Thiruvonam celebrationis on 5th September 2025. It is celebrated by Kerala
iyers in addition to other Hindu communitiesanywhere in the world. Now a days
other religions also celebrate Onam inKerala. On this occasion a posting on
Vamana is most appropriate. Vamana is calledas Ulagalanda Perumal in Tamil and
temple is there for him in Kanchipuram inTamilnadu.
Thrikkakara Vamana Moorthy Temple is one of the major Hindutemples in India
dedicated to Vamana, an incarnation of the god Vishnu. It is situated in
Thrikkakara, Kochi in thestate of Kerala. The temple is around two millennia
old and is also listed as one of the 108 Divya Desams.
Introduction
The presiding deity of this temple is Lord Vamana, the fifthincarnation of Lord
Vishnu. Situated in Ernakulam district, Thrikkakara Templeattracts pilgrims
because of its mythical association with the harvest festivalof Kerala, Onam.
The temple is famous for the beautiful engravings on thewalls of its sanctum
sanctorum. These depict traditional Onamcelebrations dating back to nearly 2500
years.
Thrikkakara Vamanamoorthy Temple is one of the few Hindutemples in India
dedicated to Lord Vamana. It is situated in Thrikkakara, Kochiin the state of
Kerala, India. It is a center of celebrations and a place oforigin for the
popular Onam festival. The temple is around two millennia oldand is also listed
as one of the 108 Divya Desams (divine places).
Legend
The Bhagavata Purana describes that Vishnu descended asthe Vamana avataram to
restore the authority of Indra over the heavens, as ithad been taken by Bali, a
benevolent Asura King.
Bali was the grandson ofPrahlada, the son of Virochana. King Bali was generous,
and engaged in severe austerities and penanceand won the praise of the world.
With the praise from his courtiers and others,he regarded himself as the all
power full in the world.
Vamana, in the guise of ashort Brahmincarrying a palm leaf umbrella, went to
the king to request three paces of land.Bali consented, against the warning of
his guru,Sukracharya. Vamananthen revealed his identity and enlarged to
gigantic proportions to stride overthe three worlds. He stepped from heaven to
earth with the first step, fromearth to the netherworld with the second. King
Bali, unable to fulfilhis promise, offered his head for the third.
Vamana then placed his foot andgave the king immortality for his humility. Upon
worshiping Mahabali and his ancestor Prahlada,he conceded sovereignty of
Rasatala. Some texts also report that Vamana did not step into theRasatala, and
instead gave its rule to Bali and granting him the boon to becomethe next
Indra.
In giant form, Vamanais known as Trivikrama.
The legend is associated with the temple and also withUlagalantha Perumal
Temple, Tirukoyilur, Ulagalantha Perumal Temple,Kanchipuram and Kazheesirama
Vinnagaram, Sirkazhi
History
Parashurama is said tohave established the temple. There is no known written
history of theThrikkakara Temple, but it is said to be almost 4,500 years old,
as indicatedby the inscriptions on its walls.
Some documents say the temple was once under the ‘EdappallySwaroopam’.
In present times afterEast India Company and Marthandavarma annexed the
territory from Kingdom ofKochi, the Onam festival was jointly organized by the
61 Naduvazhis (localrulers) under the leadership of the Maharaja of Travancore,
till India regained independence. Though thetemple is in Kochi, Now the temple
is not under Cochin Devaswam board. It is under Travancore Devaswam board.
Architecture anddeities
Located in Ernakulam district, the temple is famous for theexquisite
engravings, that depict traditional Onam celebrations, on walls ofits sanctum
sanctorum. These engravings date back to nearly 2500 years.
In an enormous area of 10 acres, there stands two temples. While one is
dedicated toVamanamoorthy, the main deity in the second one is Lord
Shiva.Mahabali's statue is also housed here.
The temple complex, which is enclosed in a large area, holdsthe main
sanctumdedicated to Vamana. The icon of Vamana is depicted preparing toplace
his foot on the Asura King Mahabali. The temple also houses recordscontaining
the earliest mention of the celebration of the Onam festival datingto 861 CE.
The templeis under the administration of the Travancore DevaswomBoard.
Chief deity
According to the temple secretary, Pramod Kumar, the idolrepresents
Thrivikrama. “It is said to be Vishnu’s ultimate form without gadha.Thrivikrama
form is alsoknown as Vamana’s Vishwaroopa, and thus the temple is known
asThrikkakara Vamana Moorthy Temple,” he says.
Pramod explains the second myth, too. “To repent for thekilling brahmins,
Parasurama brought members of that community from UttarPradesh to stay in
Thrikkakkara. They made this temple to worship Vishnu. Somesay Parasurama also
placed the deity at the temple,” he says.
Mahabali was a follower ofLord Siva, and he had built a Siva temple here long
back. At Thrikkakara temple, Siva isworshipped along with Vishnu. “It’s rare to
see Siva and Vishnu being veneratedwith equal importance at a temple,” said
Pramod.
The sub-deities in the Vamana temple are Bhagavati,Sasthavu, Gopalakrishna,
Nāgadevatas, Brahmarakshas and Yakshi. The Brahmarakshasa shrine islocated in
the outer complex, along with a Banyan-tree god and the Sarpa Kavu.
Surrounding the inner complex walls is a series of thousandsof lamps called
Chuttuvilakku which translates to 'surrounding lamps'.
There are two pondsassociated with the temple, one is the Kapilatheertham
located closer to the temple on the Northern sideof the sanctum sanctorum, and
is accessible only to priests. The other pond is located on theNorthern side
outside the temple walls, and is used regularlyduring the Aaraattu ceremonial
bath of the idol during Onam celebrations.
There is also a Shivatemple beside the main Vamana temple, which was renovated
in 2014. It houses idols of the deities Shiva, Ganesha, Karthikeya and
Durga.Not much is known about the age and origin of the Shiva temple except
that itunderwent renovation around a hundred years ago.
Apart from the shrines and ponds, the temple complex housesthree stages or
halls for cultural performances called Naimishaaranyam, and atemple auditorium
at the South-west corner. The auditorium is regularly usedfor weddings and
meeting, and for conducting the Onam feast during thefestival.
Poojas
As in other Vishnu temples and Siva temples
Festivals
The main temple festivalis during the Onam season,which falls on the month of
August or September and is the most important eventof the religious calendar
here.
Communal harmony continues to be the hallmark of thecelebrations, with
peoplebelonging to differentreligions turning outin large numbers for the
Onasadya or the Onam feast in keeping with the spiritof the festival.
Apart from Onam, thetemple also observes important festivals in the Hindu
calendar such as Vishu,Makara Sankranti, Navaratri and Saraswati Puja.
Thrikkakara temple is considered to be a centre of Onamcelebrations, as
Thrikkakarais considered to have been the abode of the King Mahabali.
The celebration of theOnam festival is the main event in the temple. The
festival is celebrated overa period of ten days in the Malayalam month of
Chingam. The temple houses themain deity, Lord Vamana.
During the Onam celebration period,a pyramidal statue idolising Maveli and
Vamanan is installed as a symbol ofhonour at all other sites of the
celebration, and named Thrikkakara-appan.The temple is the site at which the
king Mahabali is said to have been sent tothe netherworld Rasathala by Vamana
with his foot, hence marking the genesis ofthe Onam festival.
Some features of the Onamfestival at Thrikkakara are
Flag-hoisting and lowering: The temple festival begins on thefirst day (Atham)
with the Kodiyettu ceremony, which is a flag-hoistingceremony common in
festivals in temples in Kerala. The festival ends on the10th and final day,
which starts off with a symbolic welcome of the Asura king Mahabali. Theclosing
of the festival is marked with the lowering of the flag and bathing ofthe idol,
referred to as Aarattu
Decoration of idol:The Chaarthu is a form ofdecoration of the Vamana idol using
mainly sandalwood paste, ornaments andclothing. On each day, the idol is
decorated in the form of oneof the Ten Avatars of Vishnu, including the Matsya
(fish), Kurma (Tortoise),Varaha (boar), Narasimha (half-man half-lion), Vamana,
Parashurama, Rama,Balarama, Krishna, Kalki and Trivikrama (another form of
Vamana).
Processions: The Pakalpooram is a grandprocession held on thepenultimate (9th)
day of the celebrations.
A similar procession,called Seeveli, is alsoheld on the final day. The
procession involves leading the main deity Vamana ona ceremonial elephant
around the temple campus, along with a group of abouteight caparisoned
elephants and accompanying Panchavadyam. The processionpauses at each of the
gates of the temple (East, West, North and South), andproceeds to return the
idol back to its inner sanctum. The procession is similar to the oneheld in
festivities at the Guruvayur temple.
Onam feast:
A highlight of thefestival is the grand banquet, or Sadya, held on the last
two days of thefestival at the temple campus. The feast has grown significantly
in magnitudeeach year, and is currently attended by more than twenty thousand
people. People belonging to different faiths and religions turn out in
largenumbers for the sadya in keeping with the spirit of the festival.
Atthachamayam procession and finale: The festivalis flagged off all over Kerala
by a grand procession beginning at Thrippunithura near Kochicalled Athachamayam
. In olden days, the Kochi Maharaja would head a grandmilitary procession in
full ceremonial robes from his palace to the Thrikkakaratemple.
Arts performances: During the period of 10 days, thetemple showcases
performances in several cultural arts such as Chakyar Koothu,Ottamthullal,
Kathakali and Patakam aswell as dance and musical performances such as
Panchavadyam and Thayambaka.
Each day also has its ownceremonial significance, and the temple authorities
perform several ceremonialrites which involve the main deity and the other
deities housed at the temple (namely Lord Ayyapa, Devi, LordKrishna and
Rakshassu). The Shiva temple located beside the main temple is alsoinvolved in
these rites. In 2015, the Malayali actress Navya Nair presented adance
performance named 'Shivoham' at the temple.
Capital of Kingdom byMahabali
A revered temple in Ernakulam, the only one dedicated to LordVamana, central to
Onam celebrations and rich in legends of King Mahabali andVishnu's fifth
incarnation.
Believed to have been thecapital of the legendary King Mahabali's kingdom,
Thrikkakara is home to the only temple in Keralathat is dedicated to Lord
Vamana, the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Divya Desam
This temple, the Vamanamoorthy Temple at Thrikkakara is one among the 108 divya
deshamsor sacred Vishnu temples mentioned in the works of Alvars (saints).
Etymology
The etymology of thename Thrikkakara ('Thiru-kaal-kara' meaning 'place of the
holy foot') is alsoderived this way.
Specialties
Beyond folktales, the temple also has significance in thehistory of the land.
It issaid that the emperor of Kulasekharam, Cheraman Perumal used to conduct
annualmeetings of all the feudal kings at the Vamanamoorthy Temple. Eachyear
this meeting happened during the festival season that commences on
theThiruvonam day in the month of Karkidakam to Thiruvonam day in the month
ofChingam. This month long annual festival concluded with the 10-day
celebrationof Onam which was from Atham day to Thiruvonam day, in the month of
Chingam.
A total of 56 local kings, 64 village chieftains and severalmembers of nobility
were invited to this festivities without fail. It was when the kings found it
difficult to travel to Thrikkakarathat the emperor declared that Onam should be
celebrated in each household withthe deity of Thrikkakara on display.
It is believed that it was Cheraman Perumal-Bhaskara RaviVarma who started the
Onam festivities and the festivities were then spreadacross the state.
Another story associatedwith the temple is that Kapila Maharshi visited the
temple and offered penance to Lord Vishnu onhaving heard the tale of Mahabali.
It is said that it was the sage whorequested Lord Vishnu to be the deity here
and that the Lord granted him hiswish.
Danodaka Poika
Even the ponds here have some stories to tell. It is believedthat Kapila
Maharshi visited Thrikkakara once and took bath in the temple pond.That is why
it is called Kapila Theertham. The smaller pond nearby is calledDanodhaka
Poika. As Mahabali was accepting blessings from Vamana, some waterspilled from
his hands. Some say that is how the pond was formed.
Onam- Kerala’sfestival
The Onam celebration at Thrikkakara temple is famous. Once anerstwhile
Travancore kingreleased an order saying that people who cannot celebrate Onam
at Thrikkakarashould do so at their own homes wearing kodi (new clothes).
Malayalis keep afigurine of Thrikkakarayappan to celebrate the festival at
their houses.
Before the formation of Kerala, the land consisted of 64small kingdoms. Once
every year, they used to meet at Thrikkakara. These 64kings took turns to
organise the festivities on each day of Onam. TripunithuraAthachamayam, also
known as Atham khoshayathra, is believed to be one of them.
Mahabali Ezhunnellippu
Every year, to celebrate Onam, the temple holds MahabaliEzhunellupu where a
child dressed as Vamana walks to the temple to welcomeMahabali. There are also
some special rituals at the temple during Uthradam andThiruvonam.
Onam sadya
The Onasadya or the Onam feast is held in a grand manner inthe temple with
people of various religions participating in it. After EastIndia Company and
Marthandavarma illegally annexed the territory from Kingdomof Kochi, the Onam
festival was jointly organized by the 61 Naduvazhis (localrulers) under the
leadership of the Maharaja of Travancore, till India regainedindependence.
Communal harmony continues to be the hallmark of thecelebrations, with people
belonging to different religions turning out in largenumbers for the Sadya in
keeping with the spirit of the festival.
Address
Edappally - Pukkattupady Rd, Vidya Nagar Colony, Thrikkakara,Edappally, Kochi,
Kerala 682022
Temple timings
4 AM to 11 am ⋅ Reopens 5 pm and closesat 8PM.
How To Reach thetemple
By Bus-Kakkanad Bus Stand, about 4.5 km away.
By Flight-Cochin International Airport, about 22 km away.
By Train-Ernakulam North Railway Station, about 9 km
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