Temples in Thiruvananthapuram
Sri Padmanabhaswami Temple
The main Deity in this temple is Lord Padmanabha, who reclines on Ananta, the thousand-headed serpent. He is 18 feet long, so He is one of the largest Deities of Lord Vishnu in India. The Deity reclines in a large, dimly lit room. Devotees view Him through there large doors, one revealing His feet, another His midsection (with Brahma on the lotus), and the third His chest and head. The Lord’s consort is Sri Hari Lakshmi Thayar.
This is a very ancient temple, believed to have been rebuilt by Marthanda Varma in 1733 AD. The temple is on an elevated part of the city, and its eastern tower (built in 1566) is seven stories high (30m). The temple is a blend of local Kerala style and Dravidian architecture. It is intricately carved in granite. In front of Lord Padmanabha is a raised stone platform, which is made of a single slab of granite, 2 ˝ feet thick and 20 feet squire.
The Deity is also called Ananta Padmanabha or Ananta Sayanam. He was originally formed from an iluppa tree, but was later replaced with 12,000 shalagram-shilas, which were brought on elephant back from the River Gandaki in Nepal.
It took 7 months for 4,000 stonecutters, 8,000 workers, and a hundred elephants to built the Sreebalipura, the rectangular corridor that surrounds the temple. There are 324 pillars in the temple corridor. It is 150m long on one side, 105m long on the other, and 25 feet wide.
After conquering the local area in 1729, Marthanda Varma, the ruler of Travancore, came to the temple and offered all his processions—his sceptre, sword, army, and people—to Lord Padmanabha. He symbolically placed the royal sword on the steps of the altar. He then received the sword back and ruled the state as "Padmanabha dasa", or servant of Lord Padmanabha, and ordained that his successors would do likewise.
The processional Deity of Lord Vishnu is taken on His daily procession around the temple grounds. There are several other deities in the temple including Sita, Rama, Laksman, and Hanuman. There is a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna in back of the main temple on the right hand side. By the south entrance of the inner sanctum is a Deity of Yoga Narasimha.
The temple tank, called Padma Teertham, is located just outside the main eastern entrance of the temple.
ISKCON Temple
It located on Hospital Road, a couple hundred feet from the W&C Hospital and Hotel Amritha. It is a small place with no place to stay overnight. There is nice prasadam lunch, but you may have to arrange it in advance.
ADI KESAVA TEMPLE
This temple contains the Deity of Lord Kesava. This Maha-Vishnu Deity, lying on Sesa Naga, is 18 feet long and viewed from three doors. This is where Lord Caitanya found a copy of Brahma-sam-hita. The Adi Kesava Temple is about 45 km southeast of Trivandrum in the town of Tiruvattar. This place has a peaceful spiritual atmosphere. Few people visit this temple.
The Deity faces west instead of east. The left hand of the Deity is down, while in most other Maha-Vishnu temples the right hand of the Deity is down. The priest of the temple says that Maha-Vishnu is facing west because this Deity is looking at the Deity of Sri Padmanabhaswami in Thiruvananthapuram. Also, this Deity does not have a Lord Brahma on a lotus flower coming out His naval, as found on the Padmanabhaswami Deity. The pujari first holds a lamp at one door and then at the other two doors. It is a large temple and is architecturally interesting, but it is not as large as the one in Thiruvananthapuram.
Parasurama Temple
Located about halfway between Trivandrum and Kovalam at the junction of two roads is one of the only Parasurama temples in India.
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