- December 16, 2024
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The God who removes all the blemishes of the Devotees.
We get excited when thinking of Krishna’s childhood atrocities. Dark cloud-coloured Parandhaman is with him in almost all atrocities.
It is said that after killing Kamsa, Krishna got hungry and angry. The place where Krishna is displaying on the same swarupam still now is Kerala’s Thiruvarpu Sri Krishna Temple in the Kottayam district.
This Krishna Temple is 1500 years ancient. It is believed that Lord Sri Krishna in this temple is hungry anytime. For that reason, unlike other temples, this temple was open for the whole day & night and all 365 days of the year.
This Krishna has four hands, the right hand is with food, the backhands are with conch (shankh) and discus (chakra). This temple is located on the Meenakshi river shore.
According to Purana, this temple is connected with Mahabharata. Lord Sri Krishna gave his idol to Pandavas when they are in the 14 years of wildlife to worship every day. And so Pandavas worship the idol throughout their wildlife.
After completing the 14 years of wildlife and when Pandavas are ready to return to their country, the people of that area request them to give the idol for them to worship. Pandavas accepted their request and gave the idol to them.
People of Kerala’s Serthalai part put the statue in one place and worship it. On later days they are unable to worship the statue, so they throw it into the sea.
After long days a saint(called Bilvamangala Swami also called Aathishankara’s disciple Padmapathar)was going through that place. The boat which he travels can’t able to move in one place. Suddenly the water dried up and Krishna’s statue appears. The saint takes that statue and travels through the west side. But the boat doesn’t go west and goes east side itself through Kunnam, Pallikaara, and reaches the place, where now the temple is located.
The saint saw the temple without any statues. Then he keep the statue in that temple and made it worthy of worship.
Pandavas after completing their wild life throw the Krishna’s idol along with their Akshaya Patra (also called Uruli) into the sea. After long days fishermen of Vembanaatu kaayal area near Vechur(Called as Mangalathu Vizha) get back the statue without that Akshaya Patra from the ocean and keep it at the place of Saaramangalam and build a temple to worship the statue. Natural disasters affect the place sooner. The statue was swept away along with water. But this time statue was fall directly into the vessel (Akshaya Patra).
The saint Bilvanmangala Swamy recovered Krishna’s idol from the sea as mentioned above. The saint was unable to step down from the boat due to abnormal weather conditions. So he threw the statue into that vessel( Uruli) and went away. After long days, when he came back and see, the statue was attached with Uruli. He came to know that the vessel (uruli) was Kunnan Mannan’s own property. After hearing this, he gave place for the temple and build the temple with the help of Madapurathu Saamiyar.
Even today, a special Pushpanjali was done on behalf of Madapurathu Saamiyar.
In Ancient days, only mango pickles and coconut water were given to god. Krishna statue was relocated where now the temple is placed.
Still now, during Aarattu(a ritual practiced in Kerala) Krishna statue was taken to the Monastery(saamiyar madam) and given mango pickle & coconut water.
This temple is located on the beach area near the Meenakshi river shore. In this sanctum, Lord Krishna is placed in a standing posture with four hands facing west. The right hand in the front is with food and the backhands are with conch and shankh. In this temple, Lord Shivan, Bhagavathi, Ganapathy, Subramaniyar, and Yatchi shrines are also placed.
Unlike other temples in the world, this temple Sanctum is closed for only 2 minutes per day. Because Krishna is hungry forever and food is provided anytime. This temple Sanctum was opening in early morning at 2 am. After completing the Abisheka, Krishna’s hair was dried first. Then the special Neyvedhyam (dessert namely Usha Payasam) was given to him and then the remaining body parts were dried up. Usha Payasam was made up of ingredients like rice, jaggery, ghee, banana, and dry coconut. This recipe is the special one in this temple. The temple was never closed as Krishna was hungry forever.
As per the result of 23.58*7 the temple was opened for all 365 days of the year. Also during Solar and moon eclipses. One time Sanctum was closed during the eclipse and when opened the ornaments of Moolavar was fall off from the waist and the clothes were loosened from the body. After seeing this, Aathisankarar said that these all happened because of Krishna’s hunger. Since then temple was not closed during eclipses.
Temple was closed for only 2 minutes from 11:58 pm to 12 am just for the formality. After 2 minutes the priest opens the door with an axe. Because if there is any delay occurs in opening the door, it could be broken with the help of an axe.
This practice is followed as Krishna is a child and so he can’t able to starve. Before closing the Sanctum, the priest comes out and asks “If there anybody is hungry”, at that time if we get and ate the prasad from the temple we won’t be affected by starving throughout our lifetime. Neyvedhyam was given seven times a day. After providing to Krishna, a small amount in the food level was decreased. It was so exciting…
Prasadam or Prasada was provided anytime in this temple. It is prohibited that the devotees shouldn’t leave the temple without getting prasad.
Also, it is practiced that the devotees should take part in distributing the prasad.
The temple was opened at midnight 2 am for the devotees to worship. This is the only temple in Kerala that was opened at 2 am.
People who worship the wonderful Sri Krishna and ate prasad from the temple will get rid of the Navagraha Dosha, Grahana Dosha, Santhana Dosha, Sarppa Dosha, Vivaha (marriage) Dosha, Brahmahathi Dosha. It is also believed that Navagrahas, Astathig Balagars, and Thirty-three Devars are in strong relation with Krishna.
Every year Krishna Jeyanthi is celebrated grandly. Every Sunday, the temple is full of crowds. On the April month of every year, Vilakedupu Thiruvizha(festival of the lightning lamp)is celebrated for 10 days. During the festival, the girl child below the age of 10 dresses up like Sri Krishna and lights the lamp in front of god twice a day in the morning & evening. The temple attracts more people during this festival.
The festival begins with a flag hoist. Aanaiyottam is one of the rituals in this temple. During this festival, Elephants participated. The second day is Vishu, on this day Vishu lamp prayer occurs. Fifth day, special poojas are done. Sixth-day Anjam Purapadu(departure of Lord Krishna), seventh-day vadakottu purapadu, eighth-day keelakottu purapadu, ninth day pallivettai and thekottu purapadu(these two purapadu was happen only in this temple) are occur. Elephants round the temple for 7 rounds until the festival ends. The festival concluded with Aarattu at the end.
This Krishna Temple has Lord Krishna at its center and is surrounded by other statues on its four sides. Kochambalam Temple is located on the East side of this temple. Shivan temple at its Northside and Narasimha statue near Shivan temple. Ganapathy, Subramaniyar and Sastha temple at West side.Yaksha Gandhavars temple on the South side is placed.
Pathiramanal island, Kumarakom bird Sanctuary, Alapuzha Light House, Marari Beach, Bay Island Driftwood Museum, and Thirunakkarai Maha Deva Temple are the important tourist places to be visited near Thiruvarpu Temple.
Devotees’ Time for Worship at Sree Krishna Temple is from Night 02:00 am to Afternoon 01:00 pm
and Evening 05:00 pm to 08:00 pm.
Roadway: Thiruvarpu is in the Kottayam district and has so many bus facilities. This temple is located at a distance of 210m from the Thiruvarpu Bus stand.
Railway: Kottayam railway station is at a distance of 8.2km from the temple.
Airway: Kochi International Airport is at 90km distance from the temple.
Thiruvarppu Krishna Temple Phone Number: +91-9605357527, 0481 238 2266
Thiruvarpu Sri Krishna Swamy temple, Thiruvarpu, Kottayam district, Kerala 686020.
