TheThrichittatt Mahavishnu Temple Chengannur, Alappuzha District, Kerala, SouthIndia.
Introduction The Thrichittatt Mahavishnu Temple (also called Imayavarappantemple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, located in Chengannur, AlappuzhaDistrict, Kerala, South India. Constructed in the Kerala style of architecture, the templeis glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, by Nammalvar, one of the SriVaishnava saint-poets of the 8th century called the Alvars. It is one of the 108 DivyaDesams dedicated to Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, who is worshipped asImayavarappan. The nearest railway station to the temple is located inChengannur, while the nearest airports are Trivandrum International Airport andCochin International Airport Ernakulam. It is one of the five ancient shrines in the Chengannur areaof Kerala, connectedwith the legend of Mahabharata, where the five Pandavas are believedto have built one temple each; Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple by Yudhishthira, PuliyurMahavishnu Temple by Bhima, Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple by Arjuna,Thiruvanvandoor Mahavishnu Temple by Nakula and Thrikodithanam MahavishnuTemple by Sahadeva. Key Details: Deity: Sri Imayavarappa Perumal (Lord Vishnu). Goddess: Sengamala Valli Thaayar. Significance: One of the 108 Divya Desams, part of theChengannur Pancha (five) temples, and linked to the Mahabharata. Architecture: Kerala style, Dravidian. Legends: Believed to have been built by Yudishtira after theMahabharata war; the Pandavas installed Vishnu idols along the Pamba River. Glorified By: Nammalwar in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham. Nearby: Chengannur Railway Station is the nearest, and it'saccessible via NH 47. Legend It is one of the five ancient shrines in the Chengannur areaof Kerala, connected with the legend of Mahabharata. Legend has it that the Pandava princes, aftercrowning Parikshit as king of Hastinapura left on a pilgrimage. On arriving onthe banks of river Pamba, each one is believed to have installed a tutelaryimage of Krishna. Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple was installed byYudhishthira as told earlier. During the Kurukshetra War, Yudhishthira, the eldest of thePandavas, who never before uttered a lie, lied in one instant to defeat his guru, Drona.To overcome the sin of the lie, according to this temple's regional legend, heunderwent penance worshiping Vishnu here. The (devas) came to this place prior to Yudhishthira andhence the deity here is referred as Imayavarappar. There is another version that the Pandavas worshipped theidols during the reign and started installing them in different places duringthe end of the reign. Thiruchittattu temple, is considered to be one among the 108most sacred place of worship, where it is believed Vishnu himself resides. The temple is believed to have been built by devas alongthe banks of Chittar, a tributary of holy river Pampa, before mankind was born. The temple, was then renovated, byYudhishthira in Dvapara Yuga. The temple is considered to be the primary templeamong the five Mahavishnu Temples built by Pandavas. In Dvapara Yuga, the Pandavas resided at present dayChengannur for a large duration of their exile, hence, after the passing ofdeity Krishna, Sage Bhrigu persuaded the Pandavas to consecrate four sacredtemples in the vicinity, to the deity, who was their guide and protector inMahabharata. This would allow daily offerings and pooja to be carried outon the benevolent deity, in the form of the Thevaram, not only by Pandavas butalso all the people who helped Pandavas survive during the exile. The Pandavas,maintained and performed puja in the five temples till their swargarohanam(Auspicious journey to Vaikuntham) Yudhishthira on renovation of the temple, installed theThevara Moorthy of Vishnu with a tutelary image of the deity Krishna. Legend It is one of the five ancient shrines in the Chengannur areaof Kerala, connected with the legend of Mahabharata. Legend has it that the Pandava princes, aftercrowning Parikshit as king of Hastinapura left on a pilgrimage. On arriving onthe banks of river Pamba, each one is believed to have installed a tutelaryimage of Krishna. Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple was installed byYudhishthira as told earlier. During the Kurukshetra War, Yudhishthira, the eldest of thePandavas, who never before uttered a lie, lied in one instant to defeat his guru, Drona.To overcome the sin of the lie, according to this temple's regional legend, heunderwent penance worshiping Vishnu here. The (devas) came to this place prior to Yudhishthira andhence the deity here is referred as Imayavarappar. There is another version that the Pandavas worshipped theidols during the reign and started installing them in different places duringthe end of the reign. Thiruchittattu temple, is considered to be one among the 108most sacred place of worship, where it is believed Vishnu himself resides. The temple is believed to have been built by devas alongthe banks of Chittar, a tributary of holy river Pampa, before mankind was born. The temple, was then renovated, byYudhishthira in Dvapara Yuga. The temple is considered to be the primary templeamong the five Mahavishnu Temples built by Pandavas. In Dvapara Yuga, the Pandavas resided at present dayChengannur for a large duration of their exile, hence, after the passing ofdeity Krishna, Sage Bhrigu persuaded the Pandavas to consecrate four sacredtemples in the vicinity, to the deity, who was their guide and protector inMahabharata. This would allow daily offerings and pooja to be carried outon the benevolent deity, in the form of the Thevaram, not only by Pandavas butalso all the people who helped Pandavas survive during the exile. The Pandavas,maintained and performed puja in the five temples till their swargarohanam(Auspicious journey to Vaikuntham) Yudhishthira on renovation of the temple, installed theThevara Moorthy of Vishnu with a tutelary image of the deity Krishna. Legend It is one of the five ancient shrines in the Chengannur areaof Kerala, connected with the legend of Mahabharata. Legend has it that the Pandava princes, aftercrowning Parikshit as king of Hastinapura left on a pilgrimage. On arriving onthe banks of river Pamba, each one is believed to have installed a tutelaryimage of Krishna. Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple was installed byYudhishthira as told earlier. During the Kurukshetra War, Yudhishthira, the eldest of thePandavas, who never before uttered a lie, lied in one instant to defeat his guru, Drona.To overcome the sin of the lie, according to this temple's regional legend, heunderwent penance worshiping Vishnu here. The (devas) came to this place prior to Yudhishthira andhence the deity here is referred as Imayavarappar. There is another version that the Pandavas worshipped theidols during the reign and started installing them in different places duringthe end of the reign. Thiruchittattu temple, is considered to be one among the 108most sacred place of worship, where it is believed Vishnu himself resides. The temple is believed to have been built by devas alongthe banks of Chittar, a tributary of holy river Pampa, before mankind was born. The temple, was then renovated, byYudhishthira in Dvapara Yuga. The temple is considered to be the primary templeamong the five Mahavishnu Temples built by Pandavas. In Dvapara Yuga, the Pandavas resided at present dayChengannur for a large duration of their exile, hence, after the passing ofdeity Krishna, Sage Bhrigu persuaded the Pandavas to consecrate four sacredtemples in the vicinity, to the deity, who was their guide and protector inMahabharata. This would allow daily offerings and pooja to be carried outon the benevolent deity, in the form of the Thevaram, not only by Pandavas butalso all the people who helped Pandavas survive during the exile. The Pandavas,maintained and performed puja in the five temples till their swargarohanam(Auspicious journey to Vaikuntham) Yudhishthira on renovation of the temple, installed theThevara Moorthy of Vishnu with a tutelary image of the deity Krishna. Another legend The perumal took theMohini Avatharam to protect Lord Shiva from Padmasura. Once, there lived an Asuran (Demon)named “Sugan”. He had a son by Padmaasuran. He got many varams by doing varioustapas. Likewise, he got a peculiar Varam from Lord Shiva that if anyone's headis touched over anyone's head, he should be turned into ash. After getting the Varam, he wanted to kill Lord Shiva whogave him the Varam and ran from him and seeked the help from Sriman Narayanan.Even the Deva Loga Kanniyars like Rambai, Oorvasi, Thilothamai tried to changehis concentration by showing their presence in front of him. But, they fearedcoming in front of him because they thought he might put his hand on theirheads. At that time,Sriman Narayanan took the most beautiful Mohini Avatar and came in front ofPadmaasuran. On seeing the beauty of the Mohini, he stood withoutmoving and wanted to get the happiness of her beauty. At that time, Mohini whowas actually Sriman Narayanan, said after having the oil bath, hecan get happiness from her. On hearing this, Padmaasuran felt very happy and went towardsthe tank (Pushkarani) to have the oil bath. As soon as heapplied the oil on his head, his hand touched his head and at that second, hewas turned to ash. Andfinally, Sriman Narayanan who took the Mohini Avatar saved Lord Shiva. At thattime, Sriman Narayanan gave his pratyaksham for Rudhran (Lord Shiva). The perumal is Imayavarappan, found in Nindra thirukkolam facing towards westdirection .Appan means father and in this sthalam , Imaya varappan is givinghis blessings and seva in the father Sthanam (stage). To explain that LordShiva and Sriman Narayanan are equal, a very big shivan temple is also found inthis sthalam. History Earliest references to this temple appear in the poems andhymns composed by the greatest of Alvar saints - Nammalvar, in circa 800 CE. Stone inscriptions in the temple date it back to the SecondChera Empire (800 - 1102 CE). There are no historical records to indicate when the templewas built. As per local legend, the temple was believed to have been built bydevas. Architecture The temple is built in Kerala style architecture, common inall temples in the South Indian state of Kerala in Eastern axis. The temple hasan arch from the main road. A rectangular wall around the temple, calledKshetra-Madilluka pierced by the gateways, encloses all the shrines of thetemple. The metal plated flag post or dvajasthambam is located axial to thetemple tower leading to the central sanctum. Chuttuambalam is the outerpavilion within the temple walls. The central shrine and the associated hall islocated in a rectangular structure called Naalambalam, which has pillared hallsand corridors. Between the entrance of Nallambalam to the sanctum, there is araised square platform called Namaskara Mandapa which has a pyramidal roof. Thidappali,the kitchen used to cook offering to the deity is located on the left ofNamaskara Mandapa from the entrance. Balithara is an altar is used for makingritualistic offering to demi-gods and the festive deities. Sanctum The central shrine called Sreekovil houses the image of thepresiding deity. It is on an elevated platform with a single door reachedthrough five steps. As per Kerala rituals, only the main priest called Thantriand the second priest called Melshanthi alone can enter the Sree Kovil. Thecentral shrine has a circular plan with the base built of granite, superstructurebuilt of laterite and conical roof made of terracotta tile supported frominside by a wooden structure. Deity This unique idol, is facing east in a standing posture, withfour arms, holding the - Panchajanya (conch) in the upper right hand,Sudarshana Chakra (discus) in the upper left hand, and a lotus in the lowerright hand. The lower left hand is free, however Vishnu idols generally have the Kaumodaki (mace) inthis hand. The image of the presiding deity is 4 ft (1.2 m) tall.Krishna is in his vishvarupa pose, the one he depicted to Arjuna during theKurukshetra War. Sub deities and idol. In the second precinct, there are shrines of Sastha, Yakshi,Nagaraja and Erangavil Bhagavathy andidol of Balarama in the lower shrine. Temple pond- AmurthaPushkarani Yudhishthira after having a holy bath, installed the idolsafter immersing it in the Pushkarani (Pond), filling the Conch with its waterand performed the first Pooja after installation. Hence, thepond at Thrichittat is named as - Amurtha Pushkarani, since the idolwas immersed in it and as - Shankha Tirtham, on the occasion of the pond'swater filling the Conch, therefore, worshipping at Shankha Tirtham, isconsidered equivalent to that of Sree Kovil (Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple),and full darshanam is complete when both places are worshipped. Poojas The daily poojas at the Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple(Imayavarappa Perumal Temple) in Chengannur follow a traditional Kerala templeschedule, starting very early with Ushathkalam (around 5:30 AM) and progressingthrough Kalasanthi, Uchikalam, Sayarakshai, and Irandamkalam, culminating inArdha Jamam (around 10:00 PM), with the temple open from roughly 4 AM to 11 AMand 5 PM to 8 PM, featuring distinct timings for these six daily rituals. Here's a breakdown of the daily pooja schedule (approximatetimings): Temple Opens: Around 4:00 AM. Ushathkalam: Around 5:30 AM (First Pooja). Kalasanthi: Around 8:00 AM (Second Pooja). Uchikalam: Around 10:00 AM (Midday Pooja). Temple Closes (Midday): Around 11:00 AM. Temple Reopens (Evening): Around 5:00 PM. Sayarakshai: Around 6:00 PM (Evening Pooja). Irandamkalam: Around 8:00 PM (Second Evening Pooja). Ardha Jamam: Around 10:00 PM (Final Pooja). Temple Closes (Night): Around 8:00 PM (though Ardha Jamam islate). These timings are characteristic of many Vishnu temples,especially those in the Divya Desam circuit, ensuring continuous worshipthroughout the day for Lord Imayavarappa Perumal. My note- It is confirmed from AI that dailyseevelies are there in the temple like other Lord Krishna temples Festivals The major festivals celebrated in the temple are VaikunthaEkadashi and Temple festival is at Atham to Thiruvonam (10days)in meenam Monthof ME.and Sreekrishna jayanthi as janmastami (Astami -Rohini) . >From 1957, thefestival of Gosala Krishna Temple at Thiruvanvandoor commences >from Thrichittatt Maha Vishnutemple when 25 caparisoned elephants are paraded >to the Thiruvanvandoor. Temple timings The temple is open from 5:00 am to 11:00 am and 5:00 pm to8:00 pm Administration The temple is administered by Travancore Devaswom Board ofthe Government of Kerala. Location By Road- National Highway NH 47 passes through the city Chengannur connectingthe city to other major cities like Coimbatore, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kollam,Trivandrum etc. The state run KSRTC buses connecting the city from all othermajor cities. By Train- The nearest railway station to reach SriImayavarappa Perumal Temple is Chengannur railway station. By Air- The nearest airports to reach Sri ImayavarappaPerumal temple is Trivandrum InternationalAirport and Cochininternational airport. Address of the temple Thrichittat Vishnu temple, Chengannur, Kerala 689121 Compiled from different websites and posted by R.Gopalakrishnan Dated 5-1-2026 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1907782010.3871115.1767615769823%40mail.yahoo.com.
