Pic credit: @AnuSatheesh5/X
-Deva Narayan
Every religious believer has someplace that they devote their prayers to, a foundation for their strength and a pillar for their values. For Christians, it is the church, the Muslims, the mosque, and the Hindus have the temples. However, a way in which Hindu temples differ from other religious sanctuaries is that each temple is usually dedicated to a certain idol. The Padmanabhaswamy Temple is dedicated to Lord Padmanabhaswamy, as the name suggests. It is located in the Thiruvananthapuram district of the Kerala state of India and is widely considered the richest temple in the world, possessing a net worth of 1,20,000 crores INR or approximately 14 billion USD. The reason for such a high value is due to the mountains upon mountains of gold and treasure concealed within the temple vaults.
The treasure within the walls of the temple is a material fortune but the walls themselves hold centuries of history and culture. The temple is dedicated to a form of Lord Vishnu known as Padmanabhaswamy. This form is perpetually engaged in a yogic pose known as the Anantashayana pose, one where he sleeps on his serpent bed, Shesha. The temple is known to be very old, with the oldest records discovered mentioning the existence of the temple from at least the 3rd century AD. It is referenced in many texts such as the Vishnu Purana, Brahma Purana, Matsya Purana, Varaha Purana, Skanda Purana, Padma Purana, Vayu Purana, and Bhagavata Purana. Many historians believe that the temple also had another name The Golden Temple not only due to the riches inside it but also due to the exterior appearance, with many books describing its walls as made of solid gold. The temple is one of the 108 principal holy abodes in Vaishnavism. It is entrusted to the Travancore royal family to maintain and the Maharaja of Travancore, Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma is the current trustee of the temple.
The story behind the presence of the idol of Padmanabhaswamy is a complex tale, with many versions in existence. Historians have yet to determine the true myth involved with its origin but the widely accepted tale is as follows. A great sage by the name of Divakara Muni was praying to Lord Vishnu to gain auspicious sight and the deity presented himself to him in the form of a young child. The child had an ethereal charm to him, so the sage requested for the child to stay with him. The child agreed on the condition that he must be treated with utmost respect and that he would leave if he was disrespected even slightly at any point. Over time, the child would display immature acts reflecting his age and pester the sage, yet he was unabated. This proceeded until one day, the child defiled the sage’s idol and for this, the sage was enraged and snapped at him. The child left, as per part of his deal and it was only then that the sage realized he had been visited by a form of his deity itself. Seeking remand, he sought the child until his journey led him to the forest known as Ananthakadu. Upon reaching here, the sage was met with the child, who had fused with a nearby tree. The tree fell and revealed an idol of Padmanabhaswamy, an idol so big that legend says it stretched 8 miles through the forest. The sage begged for the idol to become smaller, only thrice the length of his staff, and so the idol did. Even then, it was still quite large but this formed the idol that is placed at the temple today. A temple was constructed around the idol shortly, with the help of the neighboring kings, and this sequence of events led to the great stature of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple.
The architecture of the temple itself is a form of art, for there are many intricate details that adorn its ornate walls. The style of architecture is a fusion of the traditional Kerala style and ancient Dravidian style of architecture, including a commonly seen entrance tower monument that is common to the 16th century. Alongside the main idol of Padmanabhaswamy, two idols alongside him are the goddess Laksmi, the icon of prosperity, and Bhudevi, the goddess of the earth. The idols themselves are made of a special fossilized stone found on the banks of the Gandaki River in Nepal known as saligramams. The platform upon which the idol is placed is made out of a single rock that spans about 20 feet in area. It is known as an Ottakal Mandapam. Only the King of Travancore is allowed to prostrate upon the Ottakal Mandapam, as the act of doing so signifies one has left all his belongings to the deity. The king has already done that so he can prostrate.
Other idols found within the temple are shrines dedicated to Ugra Narasimha and Krishna. These shrines are known as Thekkedom and Thiruvumbadi respectively. There are also idols for Lord Rama, his consort Sita, brother Lakshman, his knight Hanuman, and various other members of his army.
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