BALAJI TEMPLE,MATTANCHERI -COCHIN- KERALA-Compiled Dear friends,
Tirumala Devaswom (CTD) Gosripuram Temple at Mattancheri Cochinwas established in the late 16thcentury, was built to house the idol of Lord Venkatachalapathy, brought by the Gowdasaraswatha community during their migration from Goa to Kochi around 1568,following the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire. Located in Cherlai, Mattancherry, it is a significantcultural and spiritual centre for the GSB community, featuring prominent annualfestivals like the Ratholsavam. The Cochin ThirumalaDevaswom temple (also known as the Mattancherry Gowda Saraswath temple) is open to all Hindus. Thetemple is managed by the Gowda Saraswath Brahmin community, but it is held inhigh regard by the wider Hindu community. One need to observe the temple's strict dress code, which isstandard practice in many temples in the region. The Tirumala Devaswam hold a lot of educational institutionswhich is open to all religions.During the period of Sakthan Thampuran, the community had to shift to Alleppey.Later period again many migrated to Cochin. So many institutions are in Alleppyalso. Today my posting is about this temple. Hope a divine reading. Gopalakrishnan 27-08-2025. Key Details: Name: Cochin Tirumala Devaswom (CTD) Gosripuram Temple. Location: Cherlai, in the Mattancherry area of Kochi, Kerala. Deity: The presiding deity is Lord Venkatachalapathy. Community: It is the primary socio-religious institution forthe Gowda Saraswatha Brahmin (GSB) community. But open to all Hindus. Migration: GSBs migrated from Goa to Kochi in the late 16th century after thefall of the Vijayanagara Empire and forced conversions by the Portuguese. Temple Founding: A temple was built to house the idol of LordVenkatachalapathy in 1568-1599. Idol's Journey: The idol of Lord Venkatachalapathy wasbrought to Kochi by Swami Vijayendra Teertha during the community's migration. Festivals: It hosts important celebrations, including theannual Ratholsavam (Chariot Festival), where the idol is carried through thestreets in decorated chariots. Resilience:The temple has a history of resilience, havingbeen destroyed and restored multiple times over the centuries. Legend about the chiefdeity The Vighraha or idol of Lord Venkateshwara was installed inthe Cochin Temple according to legend originally belonged to the Vijayanagararuler named Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya who had usurped throne in 1472 A.D. Hewas a great devotee of Lord Venkateshwara of Tirumala Hills, and frequentlyvisited Tirupati for his worship. But when he was physically incapable ofvisiting him, he wished to see him daily .One night a vision appeared beforethe king in his dream and told him that he need not take the trouble ofvisiting him, and that the lord himself would come to his capital city. The King was further told that asculpture would call on him for casting an Image, that the King should provideit with all the materials necessary and that the image he would makewould be the same of the Lord of Tirumalla Hills .The King was Highly Pleased. True to the dream, a sculpture appeared before the king andafter getting materials required for making the image, went himself into a roomand shut himself up. As the sculpture did not come out even after a long time,the king had room broken open. He was amazed to see a resplendent image of thelord of the seven hills, The king guessed that it was none otherLord Viswakarma himself. Thus the idol came to be known as"Swayamboo" meaning self-born. Soon after, King built a temple for the installation of theIdol. Before the Prathista the Lord again appeared before the King in his dreamanother night and gave him instruction that the prathista should take placewhen a signal is given by the beating of Dundubhi (Drum). But As fate wouldhave it, just at the time of the signal expected to be heard, few crows flewover the Dundhubhi with twigs and the twigs was accidentally dropped on theDundhubhi making a sound which was mistaken for the signal given by the lord,and the installation took place, which was found to be inauspicious time, onlywhen the king heard the real drum beat later and realized his mistake. TheDisappointed King retired to bed, but he lord came to pacify him in his dream.The Lord Said that he would always remain with him till his death. The Lord Also Added that because of the inauspicious time of hisinstallation, he would leave the city and go to Gosripuram (Later this namebecame Kochi or Cochin). First Prathishta atCochin Swami Vijayeendra Thirtha of Kumbakonam Math while on tour ofvisiting pilgrim centers halted near the neglected well where the Venkateshwaraidol was lying. At the time of Conclusion of "Sandhyaa Vandana" bythe Swamiji, A serpent with raised hood appeared in front of the swamijishowing the sign to follow the serpent. Swamiji Followed the Serpent. Aftercrawling a small distance they reached the neglected well and from where theserpent went down and disappeared. Swamiji looked at the bottom of the neglectedwell and found the Venkateshwara Idol lying there. Swamiji tookit to the place where he was performing his Sandhya Vandana and performed fewpoojas to the venkateshwara idol, then swamiji continued his journey andreached a small village and halted there, The Lord in Swamiji's Dream told todirect to Goshripura( Cochin), where the Lord wished that his idol should beinstalled there permanently. According to his dreams Swamiji went to Goshripura where hewas received by Mala Pai, the leader of the Kochi Mahajanams. Mala Paiexpressed his desire to Swamiji that the Idol of Shree Venkateshwara should behanded over to him for the worship of the deity here at Goshripuram for theMahajanams. Swamiji wanted to give the deity Abhishekam (bath) in goldcoins. Mala Pai who was very rich, told that he would fulfil swamiji's wish forthe abhishekam with gold coins himself alone. But the Abhishekam could not becompleted because of the top portion of the crown still remained unfilled. Onconsulting Astrologers it was said that it was revealed by the lord that the gold coins for his abhishekam should be given by thecontribution of 360 families residing at cochin. Mala Pai went all overthe houses of the Brahmins living in cochin and humbly requested to contributehis mite. After a long contribution the lord was not yet fully filled with goldcoins. This was because of the Brahmin who was old and had no good clothes towear to visit the temple were the festival was going on was not able tocontribute. Mala Pai went to his house requested for the contribution, evenbeing poor he gave a "Fanam", a small coin which was his sole earningto Mala Pai. Swamiji kept his Fanam on the top of the Vighraha, The Vighrahawas Immediately filled with Gold Coins. On enquiryastrologer in his predictions said that the lord was highly pleased with thedevotion of the poor Brahmin who gave his sole earning to lord. Lord said thathe is for him. The Poor Old Man Was Namedas "Daridra Narayan". Later a Temple was constructed for the lord and Swami Sudhindra Thirthaof Kumbakonam Math (Successor of Vijayendra Thirtha) performed the FirstPrathista of Lord Venkateshwara at Cochin in the Year 1599 A.D. in the Lunarmonth of Chaithra on Pournami Day when the moon was moon was in conjunctionwith Chitra Star. ToCommemorate the First Prathista, an 8-day festival called Aarat (Utsav) wasintroduced Two times Puna prathishta has been done due to destructionand details are provided in the end of the posting. History The presiding deity here is Venkatachalapathy. In 1568, withthe fall of the Vijayanagara Empire and coercive conversions to Christianity bythe Portuguese, the GowdaSaraswatha Brahmins migrated from Goa toKochi. During their migration, Swami Vijayendra Teertha brought the idolof Venkatachalapathy to Kochi. The majority of households living around thetemple belong to the GSB community. In 1599, a temple,which was to be plundered many times, was built to house the idol. The Portuguese destroyed the templein 1662, but it was reconstructed, in 1663, during the Dutch reign. In 1719,the idol disappeared mysteriously and was later found on a beach. It was keptat the Dutch Governor’s residence for a while and then restored to the temple. In 1791, when thetemple was plundered yet another time, the idol was kept in Alappuzha for manyyears. In 1853, it wasbrought back to the temple. Architecture The Balaji Temple at Mattancherry is the Cochin ThirumalaDevaswom Temple, featuring elements of traditional Kerala architecture like theNālukettu style, as well as architectural additions and elements reflecting itslong history of destruction and reconstruction. Key architectural featuresinclude a significant Deepasthambham (lamp tower), a grand bronze bell, andvarious smaller shrines and structures within the temple complex. Nālukettu Style:The temple complex is built in thetraditional Nalukettu style, a quadrangular design with a central courtyard. Deepasthambham and Bell:A large Deepasthambham (traditionalKerala lamp pillar) and a large bronze bell, among the largest in India, areprominent features of the temple, located on its periphery. Minor Shrines:The complex includes a variety of minor shrinesand structures, such as the Yakshi Peetam, Tulasi Tara, Vana Bhojanasala, andYagna Sala. Deities Apart from the shrine of Lord Venkatachalapathy, there arefive other shrines at the temples. These are dedicated to Hanuman, Garuda, Brindavan, LordGanapathy and Goddess Mahalakshmi. There are four sub-temple or shrinesinside the temple premises, dedicated to Goddess Mahalakshmi, Hanuman, Garudaand Vigneshwara. The main idol of Venkateswara, his consorts, Sreedevi andBhoodevi on his either sides and he is placed on the top of the Simhasan. UtsavMurti with consorts in the middle step, Utsav Lakshmi at the lower step andSaligrama are on the lowest step. Garuda, the divine eagle,considered as the vehicle of Lord Vishnu is worshipped for removal of all evil. The Shrine ofLord Garuda, situates in the north east corner of the main temple. Lord Garudais the defender against evils and is ever ready to bless the devotees toovercome any adverse situation. In 1881 when the temple was reconstructed andthe Third Pratistha was performed, the Garuda idol was installed in the presentshrine Sri Ganesha Kovil-The sub temple situated in thesouthwest corner of the main temple is dedicated to Lord Vighnesvara, alsoknown as Lord Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles. He is propitiated forauspicious conduct and conclusion of all ceremonies. In almost all Hindu temples,particularly those managed by Gauda Saraswat Brahmin community, the Vighnesvarashrine is of prime importance. TheVinayaka Chaturthi is the most auspicious day on which special Poojas areperformed in this temple. Sree Hanuman, a great devotee of Sree Rama, aneternal celibate and an unparallelled Karma Yogin is regarded as the veryembodiment of Bhakti, pure and selfless love to God. Devotees seek hisblessings for intelligence, fame, courage, strength, fearlessness, oratoryskills and success in life. He, the unfailing friend, companion and source ofstrength, blesses them all. In the south East corner of the main templesituates the shrine dedicated to Vajradehi Hanuman. How the Hanuman Idol cameinto the hands of the temple authorities of Cochin is an interesting piece ofhistory. Gauda Saraswat Brahmins who left Goa to escape from Portuguesepersecutions and settled down here Pooja timings The temple opens at 5:30 am 5:30 AM: Nada Thurakkal 7:00 AM: Usha Pooja 7:30 AM: Sheeveli 9:00 AM: Panchamrutha Abhishekam 10:30 AM: Ucha Pooja TEMPLE CLOSES AT 11:30 AM TEMPLE OPENS AT 5:30 PM 6:30 PM: Deeparadhana 6:45 PM: Athazha Pooja TEMPLE CLOSES AT7:00 PM The priests are from Bhat sub community of Gowda Saraswatha Brahmins whoare vegetarians since working in the temples. Festivals The various festivals held at the temple fall in the monthsof November and April. Brahmolsavam-The Brahmotsavam festival is one of the most important andauspicious function of the temple. One-day festival starting with AiravathaVahana Pooja (Elephant) at 7.45 A.M and thereafter Satakalsabhishekam(Abhishekam of 100 Kalasam) is Performed to the main deity with vedic manthrasand sukthams. After that the Grahista who is performing Brahamotsavam willsubmit Two Gold Sovereigns to the deities. In the afternoon Utsava Moorthis aretaken in the Gold Palaquin and then to the Pushpaka Vimana Vahanam and Poojasare performed and thereafter rice and curry is served to the devotees asPrasadam which is known as Samaradhana in which thousands of devoteesparticipate. In the evening after Mangala Arathi, Gold Planquin Pooja isPerformed and thereafter deities are taken to the Gold Garuda Vahanam andGaruda Vahana Poojs is performed in which hundreds of devotees participate tooffer prayers and burn camphor in front of the deities. For Brahamostsavam the Grihista should wear dhoti and uppercloth who should come taking bath without touching anybody and only members of the GSB Communityare allowed to perform Sanakalpam as per temple scheme. Grihista is honoured with dhoti and upper cloth and his wifewith saree and blouse piece. Kalyanolsavam- Kalyanotsavam literally meansmarriage of Shree Venkateswara. It is performed every day except during specialfunction and important days, Ekadesi, Muppittu Thursday, Muppittu Friday andduring eight days of Arat Ratolsavam & Maholsavam. The wedding ceremony is held amidst recitation of the Vedicmantras and pronouncing the family pedigree of the brides and bridegroom. Theidols of the Lord and his bride face each other with a screen in between. Theyare allowed to see each other only at the appropriate auspicious moment whenthe screen is removed and thereafter Kanayadanam is performed by the person(Grihasta) and his wife who is performing Kalyanotsavam. Thereafter priestperform homam and other religious aspects involved in Hindu marriages areperformed during kalyanotsavam. At last Grihista is honoured with dhoti andupper cloth and his wife with saree and blouse. For Kalyanotsavam the Grihastha should wear dhoti and uppercloth who should come taking bath without touching anybody and only members ofthe GSB Community are allowed to perform Kanyadanam as per temple scheme. In the afternoon the rice and curry is given as prasadam tothe person and his companions who is performing kalyanotsavam and dry fruits inthe evening.The performer and his companion should report at 5.45 P.M in thetemple Parsva Mandapam for Kalyanotsavam. Swarna Garuda Vahana Pooja-TheGold Garudotsavam is another one of the most important festival of the temple.A one day festival starting with usual Palanquin Pooja in the morning at 8.00A.M and thereafter Abhishekam with manthras and suktham. After that Grahasthawho is performing Garudotsavam will submit One Cold Soverign to the deities. Inthe afternoon Utsava Moorthis are taken in the Gold Palaquine and Pooja isperformed and thereafter Rice and Curry are served to the devotees as prasadamwhich is known as Samaradhana in which thousands of devotees participate. Inthe evening after Mangala Arathi, Utsava Moorthis ae taken to Gold Palaquineand Palaquine Pooja is Performed and thereafter deities are taken to the GoldGaruda Vahanam and Garuda Vahana Pooja is performed in which hundreds ofdevotees participate to offer prayers and burn camphor in front of the deities.Grihista is honoured with dhoti and upper cloth and his wife with saree andblouse piece. Unjal Seva Unjal Seva literally meanssitting of Deities in Unjal (Cradle) and swing. It is performed only on First Thursday of MalayalamMonth in the evening at 6.00 P.M. The Utsava Moorthis are taken in the palanquinand seated on the golden Unjal (Cradle) and swing. Vedic Sukthams, music, danceby children are performed in front of deities and also Gopika Geetham isrecited. It is enchanting to see the gorgeous reflections of the Lord’sglorious presence everywhere during Unjal Seva. For Unjal Seva the Grihistashould wear dhoti and upper cloth who should come taking bath without touchinganybody and only members of the GSB Community are allowed to perform sankalpamof Unjal Seva as per temple scheme. The performer and his companion shouldreport at 5.45 P.M in the temple Parsva Mandapam for Unjal Seva. Bhoondhi andlime water, fruits are given as prasadam. Idols and temple tank In the temple yard, there are statues of the Vijayanagaraking and Swami Vijayendra Theertha, as well as a temple tank. Vrindavan of Shri Sukrathindra Thirtha Swamiji (samadhi 1949A.D, 19th Madathipathi of Kashi Math) is located here. A Naga Yakshi pedestalis situated on the southwest corner of the main temple next to the VighneswaraTemple. Outside the temple yard, there are statues of the Vijayanagara kingSaluva Narasimha Deva Raya and Swami Vijayendra Theertha of Kumbhakona Math, aswell as a temple tank Outside the temple Specialty A notable feature of the temple is its huge bronze bell, aboutfour feet in diameter and six feet in height. In earlier centuries, the chimingof the bell could be heard even in areas far from the temple. Administration Cochin Tirumala Devaswom, also called Gosripuram is thebiggest and most important socio-religious institution of Gowda SaraswatBrahmins of Kerala is the administrator of the temple. Location The temple is situated at Cherlai inthe heart of Mattancherry town in Kochi area which is one of the earliestsettlements of GSBs in Kerala. Offerings in thetemple Few offerings are given below asthana olaka 230.00 chandanalepanam – ganapathi 4450.00 chandanalepanam – garudan 6525.00 chandanalepanam – hanuman 6525.00 chandanalepanam – moola prathista2400.00 chandanalepanam ulsava lakshmi1300.00 deeparadhana (swami kovil)210.00 deeparadhana – ganapathy kovil270.00 deeparadhana – garudan kovil270.00 deeparadhana – hanuman kovil270.00 deeparadhana – mahalakshmi kovil270.00 deeparadhana – vrindhavan kovil270.00 ekadashi rathri palanquin pooja4225.00 gangajalaabhishekam190.00 gold palanquin pooja – (night)9250.00 gold palanquin pooja – (noon)2200.00 kalabam (sree swami)8000.00 kalyanolsavam (gold palanquin)15500.00 kalyanolsavam (silver palanquin)12200.00 kanakaabhishekam150.00 ksheerabhishekam305.00 lakshmi pooja (lakshmi kovil)320.00 lakshmi pooja (swami kovil)320.00 manchaka-seva3500.00 manobhista pradha bagavath seva1600.00 muppitta velli mahalakshmi pooja ( first friday of malayalammonth )3400.00 nithya panchamritabhishekam340.00 palabhishekam60.00 palanquin pooja – (night)3100.00 panchamritabhishekam (1/4 chothana) 3kg each 4900.00 panchamritabhishekam (chothana) 12kg each14900.00 panchamritabhishekam (one measure) 1/2kg each 800.00 panchamritabhishekam – yakshi 345.00 pavamanabhishekam – hanuman kovil 70.00 pavamanabhishekam – vrindhavan 70.00 pongal pooja 785.00 punyaham185.00 pushpalangaram (swami kovil)1300.00 pushpalangaram – hanuman (meladhayam)125.00 sahasra deepalankara seva ( first wednesday of malayalammonth )16000.00 uchaa pooja365.00 udayaasthamanam 5000.00 udayasthamanaseva vrindavan kovil1550.00 unjaal seva ( first thursaday of malayalam month )7750.00 usha-pooja90.00 All the rates forSevas given above are subject to change. For Booking Please contact the CTD office for availability of dates &booking of Sevas at the following address. The President, Cochin Tirumala Devaswom, Cochin – 682 002 Tel- +91 – 484 – 2225459 LIST OF NIVEDYAM ATGOSRIPURAM TEMPLE Appam1/2 Kg142.00 Avil Nivedyam (Only Sunday)1 Kg325.00 Bassan Laddu (Only Tuesday)1/2 Kg380.00 Dadhyannam1/2 Kg120.00 Elaneer Nivedyam1No45.00 Ellunda (Only Wednesday)1/2 Kg156.00 Godambu appam 1/2 Kg170.00 Godambu Dosa (Only Friday) 1/2 Kg136.00 Haridhakaram1No140.00 Kadala Nivedyam15 Kg2000.00 Mothi Laddu1No 25.00 Mandappam (Only Monday)1/2 Kg420.00 Manoharam (Only Monday)1/2 Kg200.00 Modakam1/2 Kg122.00 Mothi Laddu (Only Tuesday)1/2 Kg500.00 Mulikkappam1/2 Kg185.00 Kadalaparippin Mulikkappam1/2 Kg160.00 Kadalaparippin Godambhumavin Nai Mulikappam1/2 Kg 260.00 Mulikkappam – ( Ghee)1/2 Kg275.00 Nai Modakam1/2 Kg216.00 Nai Rotti (Saturday Only)1/2 Kg168.00 Nalikera Dosa (Thursday Only)1/2 Kg90.00 Paal Godambappam1/2 Kg250.00 Paal Nivedyam1 Ltr82.00 Paal Pongal1/2 Kg256.00 Eratti Payasam1/2 Kg210.00 Payasam – Kootu1/2 Kg140.00 Paal Payasam 1 Ltr110.00 Payasam – Pizhinju 1/2 Kg102.00 Pongal1/2 Kg146.00 Cheruparippu Poorna Vada (Wednesday Only)1/2 Kg220.00 Kadala Parippu Poornavada (Wednesday Only) 1/2 Kg186.00 Rotti (Saturday Only)1/2 Kg100.00 Sarkara Godambu Dosa1/2 Kg110.00 Sarkara Panakam1/2 Kg 50.00 Thairu Nivedyam1 Ltr56.00 Trimadhu Pazham1No76.00 Uzhunnappam (Thursday Only)1/2 Kg138.00 Uzhunnu Dosa (Thursday Only)1/2 Kg.00 Uzhunnu Vada (Friday Only)1/2 Kg170.00 My note- Ihave added the big list since many changes are there in nivedya items in thetemple Is the temple open toall the Hindus Based on visitor reviews, the Cochin Thirumala DevaswomTemple, where Lord Venkitachalapathi is the main deity, is open to all Hindus.However, non-Hindus are not permitted to enter. This temple is an important center for the Gowda SaraswatBrahmin (GSB) community in Mattancherry. While it holds particular significancefor this community, the temple entry rules allow access to people from allHindu traditions. Puna Prathishtadetails Destruction of thetemple and its Second Prathishta The temple was destroyed on 2 March 1662 by the Portuguese.The community fled with the Vighraha of Venkateshwara to Udayaperur nearbyTripunithara for safety. They remained there for nearly 10 months. While theywere at Udayaperur where they stayed as refugees without proper shelter theytook a pledge to spread their habitation in sixteen places eight in CohinKingdom and Eight in Travancore Kingdom thereby building sixteen TirumalaDevaswoms and calling each place as "Gramam". Thus there are sixteen grama or Tirumala Devaswomsthat exist. The Dutch who came to Cochin Defeated the Portuguese in a waron 6 January 1663 and established Fort premises of Cohin in their rule. Thecommunity came back to Cochin with the image and Re-established theirsettlement in Cochin with the help of the Dutch. A new temple for the Lord wasconstructed their and the Second Prathista was performed by H.H. Swami DevendraThirtha of Sri. Kashi Math along with his Shishya H.H. Swami MadhavendraThirtha in the year 1719 A.D. Fight with The Rajaand its Third Prathishta The year 1791 was marked by the terrible persecution of theKonkanis at the hands of Raja Rama Varma IX (Sakthan Thampuran). The ruler ofCochin massacred a large number of Konkani merchants, including Dewaresa Kini,on 12 October 1791. The Raja ordered the execution of three of the guardians ofthe Thirumala Devaswom Temple because they refused to yield any part of thetreasures belonging to the shrine. Sakthan Thampuran then plundered the shopsaround the temple, carting off the property of the Konkani merchants, beforeproceeding to loot the temple. The plunder was calculated at over 1.6 lakh fromthe temple alone. The persecuted Konkanis then fled southward to Thuravoor andAlappuzha (Alleppey) in the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor (Travancore), with themurti of Sri Venkateshwara. AtAlleppey, having been assured protection by the Dharma Raja, they built atemple on the banks of the Alleppey canal. Sakthan Thampuran, andthen his successors, made vain efforts to bring the deity back to Cochin butwere repulsed by the Maharajas of Travancore who had come to believe that theirkingdom prospered because of the presence of the murti and of the Konkanimerchants. In 1853, whenKerala Varma IV reigned in Cochin, the Konkani community finally agreed toreturn, and brought back the murti on 7 February 1853. The thirdpratishtha of the Vigraha of Sri Venkateshwara in the present resanctifiedtemple was performed in 1881 by Swami Bhuvanendra Thirtha along with hisshishya and designated successor Swami Varadendra Thirtha. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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