Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple all Information

Located in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerela), Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The Malyalam translation of Thiruvananthapuram is ‘The City of Lord Ananta’ which refers to Padmanabhaswamy temple.

Key Points about the Temple

Location : West Nada, Fort, East Fort, Pazhavangadi, Thiruvananthapuram,Kerala- 695023
Affiliation : Hinduism
Deity : Maha Vishnu
Timings : 03:30 am to 12:00 pm and then continues from 05:00 pm to 07:20 pm
Entry Fee : Special Darshan- Rs.150/- and Special Darshan with Prasad Rs.180/-.
Architectural Style : Fusion Architecture of Kerela and Dravidian architecture

History of the Temple

The temple is one of the seven Parsuramas Kshetras, and it has been mentioned in many holy texts including Puranas, Padma Purana, Skanda Purana and Brahma Purana.

Legend

Divakar Muni, who was Vishnu Bhakta, had performed tapasya for Lord Vishnu. It is said that once the sage noticed a charming child and didn’t want to leave him. The child promised to stay with him on one condition that he will always have to treat him with love and respect. However, if the sage fails to do so, the child would disappear forever. For a long time, the sage did as the child said but became angry when the child mishandled the salagram of Lord Vishnu. Before leaving the sage, the child said that he will meet him again in Ananthankaadu.

The sage felt that the child was not any ordinary one, and went in search of him. When the sage spotted the child, he disappeared into a tree. After getting closer to the tree, it fell down and assumed the form of Maha Vishnu which was about 8miles long. By seeing the large form of the god, he requested the deity to condense himself. The Lord accepted the request and shrank to a size of three times length of Sage’s yoga dhand. The sage then gave offering of a raw mango in a coconut shell which has now become a tradition of the temple.

Festivals celebrated in the temple

Thiruvonam- The temple celebrates the birthday of Lord Sri Padmanabhaswamy. During this time, hundreds of devotees visit the temple and celebrate the festival with much joy.
Thulam and Meenm- In this ten-day festival which celebrates bi-annually, they carry the idol on elephants but it is not in practice anymore because at one such occasion, the elephant starting running amuck.
Lakshadeepam- Thousands of lamps are lit during this festival which gives a great site of the temple.

Visiting Hours

The fees for Special Darshan is Rs.150/- and for Special Darshan with Prashad is Rs.180/-.
The temple is open on all days of the week.
The timing of the shrine is from 03:30 am to 12:00 pm and then continues from 05:00 pm to 07:20 pm.
Morning hours:3:30 AM – 4:45 AM (Nirmalya Darshanam), 6:30 AM – 7:00 AM, 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM, 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM, 11:45 AM – 12 PM.
Evening hours:5:00 PM – 6:15 PM, 6:45 PM – 7:20 PM.
The temple is open on all seasons .

How to reach the Temple?

By Train-Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station (600 m) is the nearest railway station to the temple.
By Road- The temple is well connected with private taxis and local buses from the temple, however, Vizhinjam Bus station is 16 km away from the temple and is the nearest to the temple.