Kodungallur, is in Trichur district of Kerala and it is a small town . An ancient , prosperous and famous port known by the name of Muziri Pattinam which was recently excavated is close by. The excavations have yielded enough evidence to confirm the existence of flourishing trade between Romans and Indians in beads, ornaments and silks.
Kodungallur is famous for Bhagavathy Amman temple (look for a separate post) but this post is on a GSB (Gowda Saraswath Brahmins) temple of Raja Gopalaswamy (Lord Krishna) which I found was very serene and had a clean environment. Cleanliness is next to Godliness, is very much reflected in this temple. The temple walls have beautiful paintings from Ramayana, Krishnaavatara and Dasavathara.
How to reach:
Irinjalakuda is the nearest railway station. Nearest airport is Nedumbassery International airport. Plenty of buses ply from different parts of the state.
For accommodation one can stay either at Trichur (30Kms) or Ernakulam (35 Kms) where many hotels suiting to every one's budget and tastes are available.
74 comments:
Thanks for the nice info on Raja Gopalaswamy Temple. Nice pictures. Typical Kerala style architecture. Just one question. How far this is from Guruvayoor?
SG
This temple is approximately 50 Kms.from Guruvayoor
Wonderful.The slideshow is great.I have visited Ernakuam countless times bit did not have the good fortune of visiting this shrine.One thing I wish to know.Do they put namam on the forehead in temples at Kerala?In Tamil nadu and other states in South all perumal temples display the namam,vadagalai or thengalai.
Thanks for telling me about the problem on my blog. I am still not sure as to what went wrong.
Beautiful and informative post. How do you put this watermark on your pictures which says chitra's pilgrimage?
For some reason or other certain aspects of this temple remind me a bit of a railway station - a very colourful station but a station never the less. Such beautiful details to the drawings, I especially love Krishna as a disciple.
Hi Chitra,
Thanks for this post. This temple is done in the traditional Kerala style. The first 3 rows of paintings in this slide show reflect the Dashavatara of Vishnu, ten forms of the Goddess and the life stories of Krishna. The last row is not clear, but it shows some stories related to VIshnu. Perhaps you can tell us about this row.
The paintings themselves are done in the calendar art style, which means they can't be earlier than late 19th century, when the calendar art style came in vogue. Perhaps they replace much earlier paintings done in older style.
Petty Witter - perhaps long platform with slanted roof and slender pillars remind you of a railway station! But that's typical of Kerala architecture. Besides, railway stations have a metal roof and pillars, while Kerala temples use terracotta tiles and wood.
Oh yes, they have metal pillars here!
KP
GSB's do have namam but unlike the others it is of sandal paste in one broad stroke .
Kiran, The provision to add the water mark is right there in Picasa under "add text".
PW,
Is it reminding you about the railway station?, I loved that humour.I too loved Krishna's picture as a disciple.
That empty courtyard is so impressive!
Archana,
I love your comment.You always chip in with something extra.
Those pictures, again are form Krishna avatara only and some are of various Gods and Goddesses like Lakshmi , Saraswathi etc.
Mridula,thanks for the comment.
PW,
Archana has given some explanation about Kerala temple architecture.
Looks like a lovely place to take a deep breath, a quiet moment, and contemplate the world.
:-)
Traci
Nice pics chitra, ...
Traci,
Absolutely, an excellent place to spend some quiet moments.
Sushma,thanks,Have you visited this part of Kerala?
That is really a clean temple. Those are wonderful paintings on the temple wall. Excellent place. This time when I go to Kerala, I ll try to visit these places.
The temple is neat. I loved the wall paintings.
Very good picture. Always learn something new here.
Nithu,thanks for the comment.I am sure you you would love the trip.
Insignia,
thanks . The wall paintings on all the walls are really awesome.
A
I am happy, you liked my post.Thanks.
I think "Krishna as disciple" is Krishna as visualised by the blind saint Surdas in his poetry. He sings praises to Krishna and Krishna comes to listen to him as visualised by him.
But I may be wrong.
wow what a beautiful temple ...so neat n peaceful ...love the painting of kutti krishana n his childhood ...everything is nice chitra ...thanks for sharing dear
Satya
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Archana .
I also feel it is surdas, singing Bhajans.
Satya,
Thanks dear. Kutti Krishna is really cute.
There must be an ancient GSB connection with Kodungallur...
Slogan Murugan,
When GSB's migrated to Kerala they settled along the coast lines.One would find their temples where ever they have their settlements
I have been to Guruvayur several times but haven't been to this temple. Thanks for this information. Very beautiful pictures.
Babli,
Thanks for the comment.
ithu guruvayoor pakathula thane??
Hary,
aama, poyirikingala? ethavathu nyabagam....
Dear Chitra,
Good Evening!
Beautiful photos and I had never heard about this Temple before even if I had been to Kodungallore many times.The Devi Temple ,and ThiruvanchikulaM temples are so famous.
Hope you had darshan of Sree Rama Swamy at THRIPRAYAR.It is a beautiful temple.
From Guruvayor,we go to Kochi via Kodungaloor to avoid the traffic.
Thanks for doing a noble job and I am so happy to see teh blog image as the wall painting.
May Lord Krishna Bless You!
Sasneham,
Anu
Wow.. The photos are amazing...
Loved the wall paintings.
Looks very calm, serene and clean indeed.
Arti,
Thanks .I did spend nearly an hour in the temple. There wasn't any crowd at all
Cleanliness as well as creatively arranged And with roof I can guess rains must be heavy there during rainy season. Perfection - in-short the correct word. I salute authorities vision And of course thanks to you too. Keep writing. Keep sharing.
Appu, thanks.It is a typical Kerala architecture. and Yes,rains are a part of Kerala life.
Beautiful photo show - it reminds me of an issue of the bhagavad-gita i had, with many paintings of lord krishna. I often think about these stories. This temple looks so quiet! Have a lovely time!
Thanks Martina,
Have you made any paintings of Krishna? You are so sweet dear, one who knows these things would be able to understand it well.
good information and pics
beautiful snaps...
loved the paintings on the wall... its well maintained.
sm,
Thanks a lot.
Rajalakshmi,
Thanks for the comment.
The blog concept is great... Nice images... the previous one was from my hometown.... Pics of venkataramana temple in the previous post was also nice....
Nice blog. Interesting pictures and useful account of places. I am getting to visit a few places of-late.
You may like to visit my blog, Photos and Video links given below.
http://sridharan-s.blogspot.com
http://picasaweb.google.com/Sridharan99
http://www.youtube.com/user/sridharan9999
@ Suresh, thanks.
@ Sridharan, Thanks
came back to see pics
sm,
thanks sm. I am so happy.
The first few pics actually looks like its a house & not a temple. Beauty often lies in simplicity I suppose. :) Nice post Chitra!
Still busy with the work? Haven't seen you for a while.
Dear lost world,
Nice to see you and enjoy your presence here.
Very nice post. The artwork on the walls is quite intriguing.
Thanks Betty.
as usual great post along with grat pics :)
@ chitra .very nice blog.even i had a thought of creating such a blog related to temples.I will go through all the posts one by one. I AM FROM MANGALORE and i read ur post about the mangalore temple.gud one.and did u visit the "kadambal" temple near guruvayur? that is very beautiful surrounded by forests around.
Beautiful post...
Bikram, Thanks for the comment.
Raji,
welcome to my blog. It would be nice to see your posts on temples as we cannot visit all the temples in India , it would like exchanging lot of information.
I haven't even heard about kadambal temple. Next time I will try to visit it. But I was in Guruvayur day before yesterday. I did visit Mammiyur and vadakunathan temples.
?
Thanks for the comment.
I am astonished. Even though a Keralite, I didn't know about this temple.
Do you travel so much Chitra?
Thank you for the beautiful writeup. It makes me wish to visit the temple next time.
Thank you again.
Stranger,
I do travel a lot. This temple is very near to the Kodungallur Bhagavathi temple.I am sure you would enjoy the trip.
Your posts always make me dream chitra - one day i'll travel in India too ;) Thanks for your nice visit!
really a nice, beautiful n peaceful temple....and u present it all so well..best wishes to u boss..
Martina,
Thanks . I hope your dream of visiting our country comes true.
Ramesh,
Thanks for the encouraging words.
Beautiful write up, I have not gone to this temple but my wife does, regularly. She just went there last week with our son and came back with interesting accounts of the temple. My four year old son was so mesmerised by the atmosphere there. Glad to see this temple discussed here.
Sanand,
I loved the serene atmosphere ,could spend about 1/2 an hour. I just went about clicking photos around the temple.
Liked the Series of Krishna printed on wall... Nice!!!
Thanks SKM.
Hi chitra
Great work!!
Importance of Sree Rajagopala temple Kodungallur and Mannargudi Tamilnadu is that it is the only temple in India where Lord Krishna is worshipped in King's form with his beloved Queens Rukmini Devi and Satyabhama Devi.
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