Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Vamana MoorthyTemple -Trikkakara, Kochi & Onam festival

Vamana Moorthy is the fifth Avatar (reincarnation) of Lord Vishnu and this temple in Trikkakara , Kochi is one among the very few temples of Lord Vishnu where He is worshipped as Vamana. An ancient temple , situated in a salubrious environment and is closely associated with the harvest festival of Kerala , the Onam. The temple of Vamana Moorthy celebrates a 10 day festival starting with the Atham star and it concludes on Tiruvonam day. People gather in large numbers here during the festival .The Onam festivities for this year has begun and Tiruvonam is on 23 rd August 2010.

There is also a Siva temple inside the temple complex and there are subshrines in both these temples of other Gods and Goddesses. Lord Vamana Moorthy temple is the 13th among the 108 Divya desams of Vishnu.

The Bali peetam here is very huge and the sanctum houses the resplendent image of Lord Vamana Moorthy. The sanctum is circular in shape and there are shrines inside for Ganesha and Krishna.

The temple also has a special place to worship the Nagas ( the serpent Gods)

A Little legend:
King Mahabali was a benevolent, asura king and every one was happy under his rule so much so that even Gods became jealous of him. They felt that he would become a threat to them and requested Lord Vishnu to help them. Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a young Brahmachari - Vamana and approached Mahabali when he was performing a ritual. Knowing very well that Mahabali Bali would not refuse any alms, Vamana requested him 3 paces of land. Mahabali obliged though his guru Sukrahrya warned him that it was Vishnu who had disguised himself as the Brahmachari. But Bali went ahead as he wanted to honour his word.

. Then the Lord, assumed a gigantic form and with one pace measured the earth , then with second He measured the heaven , then the Lord asked the king where he could measure the 3rd pace. Mahabali, true to his word allowed the Lord to put His foot on his head and God pushed him to the nether world. But before leaving, God granted him a boon to visit his subjects every year and people celebrate Onam as the king's homecoming. Lord Vamana is also worshipped in every homes during this period. People welcome Mahabali with religious fervour by decorating their houses and the entrance of the house with floral carpets.

Family get together, preparation of grand feast on Tiruvonam day, eating together, singing and dancing of traditional songs and snake boat races are great attractions of this festival.
To know more about Onam read my other blog by clicking the link. Onam

How to reach: Kochi is well connected by air , rail and road.
Nedumbassery is the nearest international airport situated at a distance of 25 Kms from Trikkakara.
Nearest railway station is at Ernakulam . From the station the temple is only at a distance of 7-8 Kms.
Plenty of private buses ply from Ernakulam ( Kochi) to Trikkakara .
Accommodation- Budget, luxury and deluxe hotels are available in Ernakulam /Kochi as it is officially called now.

Other places of worship- in and around Kochi
Siva temple ( Ernakulathappan)
Kunan Kurisu Palli ( Mattancherry)




63 comments:

? said...

Chitra, for a heartbeat, with the monsoons here and the pictures in this post, I could almost be back in Kerala...

Urmi said...

Very beautifully described. Wonderful, informative and marvellous post with lovely pictures.

Mridula said...

I have seen so little of the South India in spite of going to Bangalore every year! Lovely pictures as usual.

Prutha Raithatha said...

lovely images...hope ur enjoying ur journey


http://donotshoeme.blogspot.com/

follow if u like what u see?

xoxo

Insignia said...

Nice pictures. And the narration of the story of Bahubali and Vamana was good.

Sushma Mallya said...

Lovely temple...pics are very nice and loved knowing abt this temple and the festival...

sm said...

beautiful temple

SG said...

Thanks for the nice information about this wonderful temple.

chitra said...

?
I know, you would have felt so good to read a post related to Onam festival.I would like to read about your Onam delicacies.

chitra said...

Babli
Are you familiar with this place, as you have visited many temples in Kochi.

chitra said...

Mridula,
Make a trip to God's own country.You'd love it.

chitra said...

Prutha
Thanks for the visit and shall visit your post soon.

chitra said...

Insignia
Thanks. This was one story I have heard umpteen number of times as a child.:). Still ringing in my years.

chitra said...

Sushma
Thanks for the comment.

chitra said...

sm, thanks

chitra said...

SG
Happy to know you liked my narration.

Satya said...

very nice temple... and good information

Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

Samvedna said...

All these temples are so special..and kerala is the most beautiful place.

HaRy!! said...

enaku pics display agala bcos office restrictions.. ana that story mom used to recite, felt v v happy to read it again!! romba thanks...

chitra said...

Satya
Thanks dear, for the visit and the comment.

chitra said...

Samvedana
Onam festivities have started and I miss Kerala:(

chitra said...

Hary
Welcome dear. Your comment means a lot.

Arti said...

Yes, I have heard the stoty of Lord Vaman..Seen it on TV many times..A very beautiful temple..the golden pillar looks really stunning.
Have a nice day:)

chitra said...

Arti

The golden pillar- Bali peetam- where sacrifices are offered. It is place where offerings are made to guardian deities of temple which is very common in South Indian temples.

kiran sawhney said...

Beautiful pictures. Great story. Such fantastic description. Kerala- majestically beautiful place to visit. I have been there and I loved it. I have such fond memories of the place. THank you so much for sharing all this.

chitra said...

Kiran,
Nice to know you have been to kerala.
Thanks for the comment.

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

Wo! There's so much of information! And the photos are so beautiful!!

R. Ramesh said...

wow this is so beautiful ya....and thanks C:)

lostworld said...

Haven't seen temples where Vishnu/Shiva are worshipped together all that often :)

Liked the story. I never knew the reason behind Tiruvonam come to think of it.

p.s. - Sorry bout my absence. My laptop was virus infected & I was changing projects at work so couldn't manage time to post or read yours :(

chitra said...

Bhavesh
happy you liked the photos. Thanks.

chitra said...

Ramesh
Nandri, nanba. See you

chitra said...

lostworld,
Guessed there would be some reason for your absence. I was wondering why there are no posts from you. Hope to see you more in the blogophere.

chitra said...

My dear friend from China,
I am happy you find my blog exciting. Do visit when you find time.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

I love festivals and this one sounds like such fun.

Also enjoyable was the legend you told, I can hear this being passed on from one generation to another. Thanks Chitra.

chitra said...

PW
It is festival time and all are busy with preparations.

betty-NZ said...

Great post. Love the story.

chitra said...

Thank you Betty. Happy to see you.

Saras said...

I have seen most of the temples in Kerala but I missed this one. Thanks for the vivid description. I shall visit this temple during our next trip to Cochin.

Urmi said...

Good to hear that you have tried my aloo recipe and everybody liked it.

chitra said...

Saras Sir
Thanks for the comment.

Traci said...

Years ago I briefly studied Hinduism and the avatars of Vishnu were so fascinating to me. I am so interested in how the different incarnations are worshipped in different temples. As always, thanks for the fabulous info!
:-)
Traci

R. Ramesh said...

hey Hii:)

chitra said...

Traci,
Happy to know that you studied Hinduism for a while. It is nice to know what is happening around the world and may it would be easy for you understand my posts. See you friend. :)

A

Urmi said...

Thanks a lot for your sweet and lovely comment.

Nithu said...

This is a nice post with lot of info.

chitra said...

Nithu,
Welcome to my blog. thanks for the comment.

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

Really amazing! I loved your trip :)

Bikramjit Singh Mann said...

every time i come I see something new and wonderful..
thanks for the info and the pics are Sooooooperrrrrrrrrrrr and the story on King Mahabali excellent ..

chitra said...

Bhavesh and Bikram thanks for the comment.

R. Ramesh said...

C happpyyyyy Onam yar...wow today one good friend anil has invited for onam sadhya..wanna join? take a bus and reach dubai, fast fast fast...:)

Amrit said...

Very nice pictures.

chitra said...

Ramesh
You enjoy, I had sadhya here and if I take a bus from Dindigul, I will reach for next year Onasadhya :).

chitra said...

A
Thanks .

Urmi said...

Wish you and your family a very Happy Onam.

Urmi said...

Wish you Happy Rakshabandhan.

sm said...

happy onam
like the story and pics

chitra said...

Babli & sm thanks a lot.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Hello Chitra, to answer your question left on my blog - basically the quote is saying that many of us would rather be known for something/anything rather than be unknown. I could not help but think of all these so-called celebrities who are so desperate to be famous for fame's sake rather than be known for doing something of consequence.

R. Ramesh said...

hahhaha have fun friend:)

Sanand said...

Though I am from Ernakulam and have heard about the Vamanamoorthy temple, this blog post was so interesting and informative. I think I will check out the places you have mentioned in this post so that I can delve deeper into the gems around Kochi. It would be a fun tour with my son!

FranE said...

Chitra is there a book with the stories in it or are they handed down by oral story telling? Loved the story and the pictures. You give me a vacation with history every time I stop by. Thank you.

chitra said...

Sanand,
I was able to write a lot of information here as I also belong to EKM. It is my home town and recently visited all the places I mentioned in the blog. Wish you have a nice trip with your son.:)

chitra said...

hummer,
Now everything is available in the form of books, cartoons and audio CD's. But all these were handed down the generations orally. As each festival has a legend behind, every one would learn the significance right in the childhood and grandparents play a great role in this.