THUMPAMONVADAKKUMNATHA TEMPLE, NEAR PANDALAM, PATHANAMTHITTA DISTRICT- KERALA -COMPILED
Dear friends, Thumpamon Vadakkumnatha Temple is an ancient temple nearPandalam in the Pathanamthitta Districtof Kerala. This temple has twoSreekovils (sanctum sanctorum). Both Sreekovils are round (vatta) in shape . Itis an age-old temple whispering several fascinating legends of the bygone eras. The first Sreekovil of this temple is dedicated to a deitynamed as Vadakkumnathan. The day-to-day pooja procedure of the deity considerthe lord as a representation of Lord Subramanya or Murugan, i.e. LordKartikeya. But some worshippers believed that the Lord installed in thisSreekovil is a form of Lord Shiva. Anyway, the concept of Lord Murugan is morefamous. The worshipers believe that the deity in the second Sreekovil(known as Thekkumnathan) is Balamurugan. It is believed that this deity wasworshiped by Sakthibhadra the author of Acharya Chudamani. (a drama forKoodiyattam). The Sreekovil has been adorned with magnificent mural paintingsthat augment its beauty. Thumpamonis East of Kerala in the Pandalam- Pathanamthitta bus route at a distance of 6KMs from Pandalam. Today my posting is about this temple. Hope a divine reading . Gopalakrishnan 26-05-2026 Here's some moreinformation about it: Sree Vadakkumnathan Subrahmanya Swami Temple, located inThumpamon, is dedicated to Lord Subrahmanya (also known as Murugan orKartikeya), the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. This temple holds religious significance for devotees whoworship Lord Subrahmanya as the deity of courage, wisdom, and victory. Situatedamidst serene surroundings, the temple provides a peaceful ambiance forspiritual contemplation and devotion. This temple features two Sreekovils (Sanctum Sanctorum), bothof which are round (Vatta) in shape. The deity enshrined in the first Sreekovilis known as Vadakkumnatha. Mural paintings depicting various scenes from theMahabharata can be seen inside the temple. The shrines and the Kuttambalamdisplay vignettes carved in wood. Deity: Lord Muruga (Subrahmanya Swamy) in two forms Location: Thumpamon, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala Significance: It is an ancient and famous temple in Kerala. River: The temple is located on the banks of the AchankovilRiver. The first Sreekovil ofthis temple is dedicated to a deity named as Vadakkumnathan. The day-to-daypooja procedure of the deity consider the Lord as a representation of LordSubramanya or Murugan,i.e. Lord Kartikeya. The worshipers believe that the deity in the secondSreekovil (known as Thekkumnathan) is Balamuruga. Legend There is a legend about the sanctum on the northern side. Itis said that two brahmins from Thrissur had come there and taken a bath in the Achhankovilriver. As they tried to take their bundles after the bath, they found it stuckthere. Realising the divine presence there they stayed there and performedpujas. The northern temple is believed to have been built by them. The southern part is believed to have been made at the end ofthe rule by Shakthibhadra, the King to consecrate his familydeity Subrahmanya there. But worship is done at both the sanctums as divine power of Siva has been observed ateach of them. History Not much written historical evidence remains about ThumpamonSree Vadkkumnathan Temple. At present the temple is managed by ThumpamonVadakkumnathan Seva Sangam (an organisation of devotees) and before that thetemple was managed (urayinma) by Velenickal Illam. The evolution of Thumpamon Sreevadkkumnatha temple is closelyrelated to the evolution of other great temples in Kerala and the Kerala’ssocial and cultural history. Historians divide the history of Kerala templesinto four stages: 1. Earliest shrines(Before 300 BC) 2. Age of Jain temples (ca. 300 BC to 500 AD) 3. Age of Buddhist temples (ca. 200 BC to800 AD) 4. Revival of Hinduism & the 'new' Brahminical temples (ca. 800 ADonwards) According tothis classification, Thumpamon Sree Vadkkumnatha temple belongs to the thirdand fourth stages. The old generation says so many stories about this temple andmost of them relate this temple to Chenneerkara Sworoopam, a small independent principality (Rulingclass) and Sakthibhadra (a ruler of Chenneerkara Sworoopam and a literarygenius). Architecture The general form of Thumpamon Sree Vadkkumnatha temple isbased on the Pancha-Prakara Layout-scheme of the traditional Kerala temples.Sreekovilor Garbhagruham (sanctum sanctorum) is considered as the head of the deity,Antharalam or inner Balivattom is considered as the face, Mukhamandapam orNamaskara mandapam is considered as the neck, Nalambalam is considered as thehands, Pradakshinaveethi is considered as the stomach, compound wall isconsidered as the legs and the main Gopuram is considered as the foot of thedeity. Hence a typical Kerala temple resembles a human body in all aspects.Fully realising the need to create places of worship that would attractdevotees, the Pancha-Prakara scheme became the standard for templearchitecture. The dimensions of the five components of the temple architectureare laid out in Tantra Samucchaya, a treatise on temple architecture, compiledand written in ca. 1300 AD. These aspects are fully followed in the temple. Deities Presiding Deity: Lord Siva - Load Subramanyan Sub Deities: Sree Ganapathy, Sree Sastha, Sree Mahavishnu,Nagadevas, Rakshus, Lord Dhakshinamoorthi Poojas The temple opens at 5:00am 5:00 am: nada thurakkal 5:05 am: nirmalyam 5:45 am: ganapathy homam 7:15 am: usha pooja 10:00 am: ucha pooja temple closes at 10:30 am Temple will beclosed between 10:30 am and 5:00 pm Temple opens at 5:00 pm 6:15 pm: deeparadhana 7:15 pm: athazha pooja Temple closes at 8:00 pm Festivals The important festivals that are celebrated in this templeinclude Uthrada Maholsavam (Thiruvutsavam - yearly celebration) SreemathBhagavatha Sapthaham, Mahashivarathri, Thaipoosam, Vishu, Onam, etc. TheUthrada Maholsavam is celebrated in the Uthradam star of Malayalam monthMeenam. Uthrada Maholsavam-Uthrada Maholsavam is an annualfestival celebrated at the Sree Vadakkumnathan Subrahmanya Swami Temple inThumpamon. During Uthrada Maholsavam, the temple premises are adorned withcolorful decorations, and various religious rituals and cultural programs areconducted to mark the occasion. Maha Shivaratri-Maha Shivaratri, also known as theGreat Night of Lord Shiva, is one of the most significant festivals celebratedat the Sree Vadakkumnathan Subrahmanya Swami Temple. Devotees observe fasts and stay awake throughout the night,engaging in prayers, meditation, and chanting of hymns in reverence to LordShiva. How to reach thetemple It is 6 kms away from the holly town Pandalam, the BirthPlace of Lord Ayyappa and 9 Kms away from the district capital Pathanamthitta. How you can getprasadam by post. Contact Thumpamon Sree Vadakumnathan Devaswam. Or Call us PH:04734-267466 Address and Bankaccounts of the temple Thumpamon sree vadakkumnathan temple Chenneerkara (PO), Pathanamthitta,Kerala PIN - 689503 BANK A/C NO: 2511 INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK, CHENNEERKARA IFSC CODE: IOBA0000632 Offerings in thetemple Chandanacharthu ,muzhukappu,udayastamana pooja nithya pooja,chuttuvilakkutheliyikkal, parayideel (inside temple compound) enna vilakku, neyvilakku,valiyavilakku,maala, udayada charthu,ganapathi homam,mrithyunjaya homam, mahaganapathi homam,maha mrityunjaya homam, Bhagavathiseva,archana,sahasara nanarchana, Ashtothararchana,pushpanjali,raktha pushpanjali Bhagya sooktham pushpanjali,swayamvara manthra pushpanjali,lalithasahasranamampushpanjali Saraswatha sooktham pushpanjali,dwadasakshari manthrampushpanjali thrimadhuram.Sarkkarapayasam,kadum payasam,koottu payasam,Palpayasam,pamchamritham,appam, ada nivedyam,Thrikala pooja Dhara,Ila neer dhara,Vella nivedyam,Malar nivedyam Nagangalkku noorum palum,Nira maala,Neeranjanam, nagar pooja,mangalyapooja,rudrabhishekam,sree rudram dhara,kalabham,Sivanu 1001 kudam dhara,aalroopamsamarppikkal,Lakshmi narayana pooja,adithya pooja Contact Address: Thumpamon SreeVadkkumnatha Temple, Pandalam, Pathanamthitta phone :04734 272 022 Administration Detailed descriptionabout Kerala temples History In between 300 BC and 800 AD the Hinduism was dominated byJainism and Buddhism. Both these religions are originated from the revivalmovements in Hinduism. Buddhism was introduced in Kerala by the missions sentout by emperor Ashoka. For more than 700 years, Buddhism flourished in Kerala. The Paliyam copperplates of the Ay King, Varaguna (885-925 AD) shows that at least in SouthKerala, Buddhists continued to enjoy royal patronage even until 1000 AD. According to some of the historians in Kerala,many Hindu temples were once Buddhist shrines, including Vadakkunathan templeof Thrissur. So Thumpamon Sree Vadkkumnatha temple might also have a closerelation to the Buddhist tradition. Shankaracharya and theRevival of Hinduism by Brahmin scholars in 800-1000 AD gradually wiped out Buddhism from Kerala. Royalpatronage by the Vaishnavite Kulasekharadynasty hastened this process. The Vedic Brahmins arrived in Kerala only in 700-800 AD,along the west coast Tulu-nadu and from Andhra Pradhesh (Thazhamom madom, theThanthris of Thumpamon Sree Vadkkumnatha Temple belongs to Andhra Pradesh). Butunlike in North India, the Brahmins in Kerala adopted the Tantric form oftemple ritual-worship. During the time of MauryaSharman, a Kadamba King, large colonies of Brahmins from North India wereinvited to settle in Tulu and Kerala. In 792 AD, King Udaya Varman of Mooshikadynasty settled 237 Brahmin families in Kerala. One tradition has it that sixoutstanding Brahmins came with these immigrants, defeated Buddhist leaders inpublic debates and established the intellectual supremacy of Hinduism. (NearbyThumpamon Sree Vadkkumnatha temple there are house names like Velenikkal Madom,Onpalli Madom, Thazhamon Madom etc.). The Brahmin scholars like Guru Prabhakaraand Shankaracharya (788-820 AD) reinforced the supremacy of Hinduism. It is believed that the deity(Balamuruga) in the second Sreekovil of the Thumpamon Sree Vadkkumnatha temple(known as Thekkumnathan) was worshiped by Sakthibhadra, the author of AcharyaChudamani. Sakthibhadra was acontemporary of Shankaracharya and after completing Acharya Choodanani he had given it to Sankaracharyafor his opinion. That time Shankaracharya was at ChenganoorMahadeva temple and was in Munavritha. So he did not give the opinionand Sakthibhadra thought that Shankarachrya does not like his text. So he burned it. But after some timesShankara visited Shakthibhadra and said that the text was remarkable. But Shakthibhadra informed Shankara,that he had burned the text. Then Shankara recaptured the full text from his memory andgave it to Shakthibhadra. All these stories relate the Thumpamon SreeVadkkumnatha temple to Shankara and Shakthibhadra. During the reign of the Chera King Rama Varma Kulashekara(1090-1102 AD), Kerala was overrun by the mighty Cholas, led by Koluthunga I.The Cholas burnt down Mahodayapuram (1012 AD), the capital of the Cheras and destroyed Kollam (Quilon), the capital of Venad. Defeated inconventional warfare, the famous warrior class of Kerala, the Nairs, formed suicide squads - Chavar - against the invaders. NumerousKalaris (gymnasia giving training in attack and self-defence) were established,turning Kerala into one large insurgent military camp. Though the Cholas could not make enduring conquests, they didmanage to smash the Chera empire and turn it into numerous, small independentprincipalities. The Nairs had lost huge numbers of men in battles.The Nair households, the Tharavaads totally lost it glory. The rulers also losttheir economic power. Without royal patronage, the powers of thetemples too declined. The king handed over the temple to the local NamboothiriBrahmins. The temples then began to be owned and managed by theNamboothiri Brahmins. So we can assume that from this time onwards the ThumpamonSree Vadakum Nathan temple was owned by Velinikal Illom. Break-up of joint families led to the weakening of Brahmincommunities and the Nair Tharavaads. This age could be called the Dark Ages forKerala (from late 1300 AD to early 1700 AD) - the Hindu society had created foritself the most difficult citation in the history. At this stage the ThumpamonSree Vadkkumnatha temple also lost it glory. My note- I found thereading interesting and added here. -- 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/1209742420.1006266.1756215070462%40mail.yahoo.com.
