VENNIMALASREE RAMA LAKSHAMANA PERUMAL TEMPLE, PUTHUPALLI, KOTTAYAM DISTRICT- KERALA
Introduction Vennimala Sree Rama Lakshamana Perumal Temple is one amongthe oldest Rama Temples in South India. The temple, situated in the 4th ward ofPuthupally, is 2 km south to Vellor in Kottayam district. The place is about 15km from Kottayam. It is believed that Lord Rama and Lakshmana during theirperiod of exile visited this hillside. At that time numerous sages meditated inthe caves of Vennimala. Upon the request of the sages Lakshmana killed manydemons who were a threat and nuisance to the sages. Thus the place came to becalled ‘Vijayadri’ in Sanskrit. The name means ‘hill of victory’ as Lakshmanawon the battle with demons. Vijayadri in Malayalam became Vennimala.Kottarathil Sankunny has written about the temple in his Ithihasamala. Legend Cheraman Perumal Bhaskara Ravivarma, the King of Kerala builtthe temple. The legend goes that Cheraman Perumal constructed this temple asper the direction of Kapila Maharshi. The place name was Iravipuram originally.The king who reached this place by canal route as per astronomical directions,was shown the idol in this hill by a hunter named Iravi. Cheraman Perumal wasattracted by the beauty of this place and stayed here and built a palace. Heearmarked the hill as a sacred and protected place.But the palace doesn’tremain today. Cheraman Perumalaccepted Lord Rama as his King and he declared that Lord Rama of this templewill be called by the name “Vennimala Perumal”. History Later on, the temple came under the Thekkumkoor kings whoruled this region. Vennimala was once the Capital of Thekkumkoor Kingdom.Unnuneeli sandesam written in 14th century AD describes Vennimala inThekkumkoor. In AD 1749 King Marthanda Varma of Venadu captured Thekkumkoor andthere after it was portion of Thiruvuithamkoor. The temple is more than thousand years old as judgedfrom the mrgamala in the namaskara mantapa, even though the present structuresmay be of later period. Architecture The temple is facing west. The entrance to the temple isthrough a dwara gopura in Kerala style followed by an Anappandal. Then comesthe two dhwajastambhas followed by the Agra Mantapam or Balikkalpura. This isfollowed by the Valiambalam with an in-built koothambalam. The Nalambalm is ofwood and tile and on the exterior there is a Vilakkumadom as well. The valiambalam leads to the inner prakara (courtyard)containing the Srikovil and the namaskara mantapa. The namskara mantapa ofmedium size contains four pillars and has been reconstructed in teak quiterecently with tiled roofing. On the south side of the namaskara mantapa, inbetween the two pillars is the ancient Kanikka Vanchi of Teak with brasslocking system etc., a rare find. Sanctum Beyond the namaskara mantapa comes the unique srikovil onlyone of its kind in South India. It is the with a pot shape, the Srikovil properis in circular form with a neck shaped mukhamantapa in front. The srikovil hasbeen constructed in stone and the mukhamantapa has ornamented wooden panels inbetween stone pillars. Both are roofed over by an integral copper roofsupported by rafters. The exterior of the srikovil has beautiful darusilpas (wooden idols) at intervals along the periphery. Sopanam as well aspillars in the mantapa have been enclosed by brass membrane. Of the daru silpasspecial mention can be made of Siva, Venugopal, Ravana, Sri Rama andMahalakshmi. Chief Deity Even though the main idol is that of Lakshmana Perumal, SriRama is also present in the srikovil by convention. Reinforcing this, there are two bronze dhwajastambhas(flagmasts) in the front yard. Sub deities In the south eastern corner of the sanctuary there are theidols of Ganapathy, Saraswathy, Siva and Bhagavathi as also the idols of thesubsidiary deities. Outside at the north western corner there is the idol ofLord Krishna. At the eastern side there are Nagayakshi, Elangikudiyan (Sastav), Nagaraja and some minor deities. Poojas Previously the temple was a Mahakshetra with five poojas andthree sreebalis daily. Now, only three poojas areperformed. Festivals Earlier there was a 28 day festival from Rohini in Makaram toRohini in Kumbhom culminating in the Arattu. For the arattu, during the forwardjourney Lakshmana was in front followed by Sri Rama while for the return afterthe arattu Sri Rama used to come in front. All the 28 days were punctuated by Chakyar Koothu. Thekoothambalam is part of Valiambalam. Pothiyil Chakyars had the hereditaryrights of performing Koothu in this temple. Only Ramayanam story used to be played here. Koothu for 16days followed by Koodiyattom for 12 days was the routine. VennimalaKoothu has been an integral part of the cultural scene of Kerala for centuries.At present, the festival goes on for reduced durationof ten days. Pithrumandapam Another feature of the temple is the ‘pithrumandapam,’ anenclosed area meant for the souls of the ancestors. It is intended to keep thesouls of the ancestors from feeling ignored or uncared for or from turningharmful to the living. Temple pond The temple pond is brim-full of water all the year round.Devotees flock to this place for the monthly balis , for the annual poojas andfor the sradha on the new moon day. The sradha which falls on new moon day inthe month of Karkidaka (July—August) draws thousands of devotees to Vennimala. Address: Perumal temple, Payyappady Vennimala Rd, Payyappady, Post,Puthuppally, Kerala 686011 Phone: 085475 37825 Protected monument The state of Kerala has declared Vennimala in the SriRama-Lakshmana Sway temple as a protected monument. Vennimala is the initialheadquarters of the Thekkumkur dynasty. Compiled and posted by R. 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