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

Kochi Tirumala Devaswom temple

Vittobha temple

St. Francis church

Santa Cruz Basilica

Poorna thrayeesa temple ( Tripunithura)

Mattancherry Synagogue

Siva temple ( Ernakulathappan)

Kunan Kurisu Palli ( Mattancherry)

Chottanikkara Bhagavathi temple- Kochi

Chotttaikkara Bhagavathi temple is a very famous and ancient temple in Ernakulam district. It is situated 15 Kms. from Erankulam(Kochi). Bhagavathi is the synonym for Amman. There are two temples here, one for Chottanikkara Amma and other one for Keezhkavilamma which is at a lower elevation .One has to descend few steps to reach this temple.

The Goddess here is very powerful and Chottanikkara Bhagavathy is worshipped as Saraswati (Goddess of learning) early in the morning, Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth) in the noon and as Durga (Goddess of power) in the evening. The deity is adorned with white sari when she is worshipped as Saraswathi and for the other two worships, She is decked up with colourful silks and ornaments. The main idol here is a Swayambhu and does not have a regular shape. What is generally visible is the deity adorned with golden kavacham with conch and discus in her hands.There is also an image of Vishnu inside the sanctum hence people refer to the Goddess here as Amme Narayana Badre Narayana.

Keezhkavu temple (the temple at the lower elevation) , the deity is Bhadrakali , another form of Mother Goddess and it is believed that a worship here for a period of 41 days removes mental ailments and rids one of evil spirits. Even now we come across mentally deranged people praying here. There is a tree inside this temple with hundreds of nails driven into it as a mark of devotees being exorcised here. See the last two photos with nails driven into the tree. Navarathri and Magam thozhal are two famous festivals here. Another interesting sight here is devotees offering vedi vazhipadu ( bursting of fire crackers called Kadina).

There are sub shrines for Sastha (Ayyappa), Siva, Nagas and Ganesha. The temple attracts a lot of devotees on Tuesdays and Fridays.

How to reach: Chottanikkara is just 15 Kms. from Kochi ( Ernakulam railway station.)

Excellent transport facilities are available as number of private buses ply on this route.

The nearest airport is Nedumbassery ( Kochi international airport)

Accommodation - Visitors are advised to stay in Kochi where excellent hotels are available of all ranges.

St. Francis Church , Fort kochi

Before I started writing on Kerala experiences, I wanted to introduce Kochi to all my dear friends which groomed me in my younger days since birth. But as I was under heavy urge to publish my post before it was too long, I postponed it .This place is full of history and has a rich cultural heritage Now I feel is the right time and here it goes...

Welcome to Kochi.

Kochi, is an old town, I mean the old Cochin comprising of Mattancherry and Fort Kochi. This place has retained its magical charm with out changing its landscape by modern constructions. The town is beautiful with its palatial houses built by Europeans, very old churches, Palace of Kochi Raja, also known as Dutch Palace, Jew town, the first Synagogue in India , temples and the Cochin harbour a natural port. This was once a bustling commercial centre for spices and traders from various countries visited this place. Portugese, Dutch and English established their colonies here and left an indelible mark in the history of this place. The beautiful beaches and lagoons with the famous Chinese nets definitely adds a unique charm to the place I belong to. Finally I want to add a special mention about the hospitality of Malayalis who welcomed people from various cultures including Gujarathis, Goans(Gowda Saraswaths Brahmins) Jews, and Anglo-Indians. I feel proud to be known as a Kochiite.

This time you are going to visit the famous St. Francis church in Fort Kochi. This is the first European church in India.This was built first by the Portuguese in 1498, when they landed in Kochi via Calicut. The Kochi King allowed them to construct a small shrine.When the Dutch arrived they destroyed all the places of worship except this church. Later when British captured Kochi they allowed the Dutch to retain the church but later they handed it over to Anglican Communion. This church is under the Archaelogical Survey of India and under the category of protected monument.

Vasco da Gama the Portugese explorer, died in Kochi and he was entombed here but his remains were later shifted to Portugal. We can still find the place inside the church where he was laid to rest. Religious services are still conducted in this church. There is a plaque outside the church which mentions it was renovated in 1779. There is monument in front of the church , in memory of the Kochi residents who fell during the Great war of 1914-1918 and with in a Kilometer from this church is the old Dutch cemetery.

1.St.Francis church, 2.&3 War memorial, 4. History of Church, 5&6 Inside the church, 7.&8 Beautiful chandelier, 9 Vasco da Gama, 10. Slab from his grave, 11, Another slab mounted on the wall. 12. The first resting place of Vasco da Gama

Poornatharayeesa temple - Trippunithura

This time I am taking you to Kerala, the place I was born and brought up. It is known as God's own country. This state also abounds in temples, some of which are over 1000 years old. Kerala is famous for its picturesque landscape, lagoons, beaches, hill stations and Asia’s first synagogue (Shall write about the same later ) and few monuments which has made this place a haven for tourists. Here I am going to start with a temple in a locality, where I have lived for about 7 years and used to visit daily. The place is Trippunithura situated in Ernakulam district.

The temple architecture is different from the ones that we see in Tamilnadu.

Poornathrayeesa temple

The presiding deity is Mahavishnu and this temple was constructed by the erstwhile rulers of Tripunithura which was the seat of royalty. Even to day we find many palatial buildings here. The temple is very big and the idol is sitting on the serpent God Ananthan whose hood serves as a canopy for the Lord. The deity here looks magnificent with his right leg folded at knees and perched on the seat and left leg hanging down. He carries conch and discuss in two hands and the third hand holds a lotus and fourth hand is resting on the seat. The sanctum sanctorum is circular in shape and on the South side there is a shrine for Ganapathy (Vinayagar). Facing West side is the shrine for Ananthan. The door of this shrine always remains closed and the idol can be viewed through a small slit in the wall. A lamp always glows inside here round the clock called as keda vilaku, meaning a lamp that keeps glowing always. Excellent brass idols of Gods moulded to artistic perfection line the circular walls of the temple.


Kerala temples give so much importance for cleanliness and the temple precincts are always kept clean. The area of temple is around 5 acres and it is always frequented by the tourists and the locals as well. There are view galleries on the south and west side side, these were meant for the members of the royal family where they used to assemble in large number during the festival to watch and listen to the various art and classical performances.


The custom in Kerala temples here, the devotees are expected to wear traditional Kerala costumes. Men are expected to wear dhoti and angavastram and women, saris or chudidhars. Western clothes are not allowed. Some temples allow men to wear trousers but expect them to remove shirts and vests while entering the restricted prakarams. The devotees who do not want to follow these customs are allowed to worship the deity from the outer most prakaram. It is recommended that people travelling to Kerala on pilgrimage keep this in mind.

There are many oil lamps here big and small, which always glow and the devotees ensure the replenishment of the oil by regular offerings. The wall of the outer prakaram is fully is lined with columns of lamps and a tall deepa sthambham (multi layered lamp post) in front of the temple which are lit up during the temple festivals.

There is a huge Peepal tree in front of the temple and a Sivalinga on a pedestal below the tree. The flag mast is very tall and considered to be tallest in these parts of Kerala. There is a pond inside the temple itself and it is not uncommon to find one or two elephants inside the temple as the deity here is a lover of the same.

There 2 main festivals here, one during the Onam, the harvest festival of Kerala and the other in November which lasts for about 8 days. This festival in November draws huge crowd here and the whole town gears up days before the commencement of the festival. The main roads leading to temple get decorated with festoons, arches and illumination. Shops spring up on either side of the road and it resembles a village fare.

The main attraction for the festival is the Seeveli, it’s a procession of caparisoned elephants carrying the idol atop. At least 11 -15 elephants get lined up for this and it is really a spectacular show where young and old participate with enthusiasm and sway to the accompaniments of percussion instruments; the ensemble called as panchari melam. The colourful parasoles held atop the elephants add charm and brightness to the whole atmosphere.

Yet another festival is the ambalmkathi festival (ambalam= temple, kathi = caught fire, in Malayalam) in remembrance of a fire that engulfed the temple years ago. On that day the whole temple would be lighted with lamps and heaps of camphor around the temple.

Even for daily poojas carrying the deity on an elephant is part of the custom here. The idol that is used for these rituals is the utsavar. Devotees accompany these seeveli chanting the name of Lord and participate in the worship there after.

The abode of Mahavishnu here is considered to be an important holy place for the Hindus and it is believed that the deity here was installed by Arjuna one of the Pancha Pandava brothers. He consecrated the temple here and lit the lamp by crushing gingely seeds from a near by plant and from that day lighting the lamps with gingely oil came into vogue.

Poornathrayeesa is also known as Santhana Gopala here and child less, aspiring couples offer their prayers here in the belief that God will bless them with children. This temple is situated on the shores of river Poorna hence the place takes its name Trippunithura.

The birth star of God is Uthram and on this day thousands of devotees throng the temple and about 35000 participate in the annadanam. (Free meals) . In the evening there is a ceremony called Lakshmi Narayana Vilakku and God's sister from the nearby Pishari temple is brought here. The main deity of Poornathrayeesa is always adorned with garland of lotus flowers and tulsi. (Basil leaves).

When ever I go to Tripunithura I never miss a chance to visit this temple as I like the atmosphere very much. The effulgence emanating from the sanctum sanctorum is difficult to be expressed in words. The vision always lingers in the mind.

The temple timings are 3.45 am -11.am, 4 p.m-8.30 pm

How to reach:
Tripunithura is 10 Kms from Ernakulam Junction. Frequent buses ply from the town to this place. This place is an extended part of Ernakulam itself.
The nearest airport is Nedumbassery which is 30 Kms, from Tripunithura.

Accommodation: Luxury, deluxe and budget hotels are available in Kochi which is the new name for Ernakulum and Cochin twin cities.