Padmanabhaswamy Temple: Ek Mandir Aisa Bhi

World's wealthiest temple, mysterious chambers, a yakshini, and beautiful architecture- these words aptly summarize what the Padmanabhaswamy Temple stands for. Submerged in a pool of spooky stories and mythical beings, this temple has a history unknown and undiscovered.

Padmanabhaswamy Temple: A marvel or a mystery?; Image Source: Iris Holidays

Lord Vishnu in Adi Shesha posture; Image Source: Forbes

Parasurama: The man who established the shrine of Lord Vishnu; Image Source: News 18

Veera Marthanda Varma: The man who changed the look of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple; Image Source: Wikipedia

When someone tries to open the doors of these cursed mystery vaults, they unknowingly invite misfortune to befall them; Image Source: India.com

Embedded in the heart of Kerala, God's Own Country, the Padmanabhaswamy Temple is one of the fascinating temples one can ever find on the face of the earth. Thiruvananthapuram, also monikered as "The City of Lord Ananta," houses this temple in its serene laps. It is as if Lord Vishnu himself found his comfortable home in this temple where thousands of mysteries and treasures are embedded. Not only beautiful stories, but the temple has several charming architectural features that allure people worldwide. Made from an intricate amalgamation of the Chera and Dravidian styles of architecture, this temple showcases some neatly crafted high walls and a 16th-century gopuram.

When one enters this serene abode of divinity, one can see Lord Vishnu or Padmanabhaswamy in the Anantha Shayana posture. In simple words, it is a yogic posture that Lord Vishnu takes up when resting on the infinite serpent Adi Shesha. Well, these are not the only attractions of the temple. Numerous legendary and mythical stories surround the intricately-crafted walls of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Let's unravel, brick-by-brick, all the stories that might have the ability to take you back to a time when royalty and divinity co-existed.

There is another legend behind the construction of this marvelous temple. Long long ago, there lived a sage named Vilvamangalathu Swamiyar. One fine day, he prayed before Lord Vishnu to give him darshan. Agreeing to the saint's request, Vishnu arrived in the form of a mischievous child. To test the saint's patience, Vishnu meddled with an idol of his own which was kept for veneration by the saint. Enraged at the child's behavior, the saint chased the child away from his house. However, he soon realized that he was no ordinary child, and it was Lord Vishnu in disguise. But it was too late. Deciding to reprimand his actions, he requested Lord Vishnu to give him one last chance. He heard a heavenly voice that said: "If you want to have my darshan, you will have to come to Anathavana or the unending forest of Ananthakadu."

After searching for the mysterious forest, he heard a pulaya lady warning her child that she would throw him in Ananthankadu if he did not stop his mischievous acts. Upon listening to the name, he rushed to the lady and asked her the location of this place. When he finally reached the spot, he saw the small boy slowly merging into an Iluppa tree. Soon, the tree fell, taking the form of Anantha Shayana's posture. However, the idol was so huge that the saint had to cover eight miles to see the entire tower. The saint requested Lord Vishnu to shrink himself so his staff could serve him properly. He reduced the size of the idol seen today at the Padmanabhaswamy temple.

We have often heard stories of fights and disagreements between Hindus and Muslims. However, long ago, the Muslims saved the Padmanabhaswamy temple from losing its shining glory forever. In 1680 AD, Mukilan, a Muslim marauder, ravaged large portions of Venad. He damaged the Perumal Temple. Mukilan intended to raid the temple's coffers and destroy them. However, the local Muslims faithful to the Venad Royals dissuaded him from doing so.

During those days, Venad was under the rule of a wise and powerful king named Veera Marthanda Varma. He took care of the temple like his own child and made sure to make the temple reach the zenith of wealth and popularity. He also started the tradition of celebrating a ten-day festival called Alpasi Utsavam on the temple premises.

The Temple of Shree Padmanabhaswamy's origins is lost in time. Even from authentic historical papers or other sources, it is impossible to identify when and by whom the first idol of Shree Padmanabhaswamy was dedicated. The temple has found its mentions in several epics and Puranas like Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, Skanda Purana, and many more. The temple has also been mentioned several times in the Sangam period's literary pieces.

Many traditional historians and academics believe that one of the temple's titles, "The Golden Temple," was actually in recognition of the temple's already unimaginable affluent status at the time. Many existing masterpieces of Sangam Tamil literary works, as well as later works of Tamil poet-saints like Nammalwar from the 9th century, refer to the temple and city as having pure gold walls. In certain regions, the temple and the rest of the town are praised for being constructed of gold, with the temple serving as an abode to heaven.

Vaishnavism, a sect that ardently follows and has infinite faith in Lord Vishnu, states that there are one hundred and eight Divya Desams or Holy Abodes in the world that reveres Vishnu as their sole guide. Padmanabhaswamy Temple is also one of these Holy Abodes that can be considered the wealthiest and most influential. People believe that Parasurama established Lord Vishnu's shrine in this glorious temple during an era called Dvapara Yuga. After venerating and purifying the idol, Parasurama divided the duties of taking care of the temple among the seven Potti families. This entire legend finds its honorable mention in the pages of Brahmanda Purana.

However, things started taking a wrong and unexpected turn. Padmanabhan Thampi, the arch-rival of Varma, stormed Thiruvananthapuram with his army and attempted to pillage the Temple vaults. Thampi remained in Sri Varaham and dispatched troops to the temple. It is reported that hundreds of divine serpents appeared and terrified Thampi's troops away. Pallichal Pillai and the locals were encouraged by this divine intervention and guaranteed that the soldiers did not carry out their misadventure.

Though the history and legends surrounding the construction of the temple come to an end here, there's more to the story of Padmanabhaswamy temple. Aside from the architecture and the pond, what has drawn international attention to this temple is its uncountable treasure, which is thought to be kept in six massive vaults containing gold and gemstones worth billions of dollars. Stay tuned to know more about what the closed doors filled treasures want to say to us!