Thiruvanvandoor Mahavishnu Temple
The Thiruvanvandoor Mahavishnu Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu and located in Thiruvanvandoor, Alappuzha District, Kerala, South India. Constructed in the Kerala style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Paambanaiappan. The nearest railway station to the temple is located in Chengannur, while the nearest airport is Trivandrum International Airport.
It is one of the five ancient shrines in the Chengannur area of Kerala, connected with the legend of Mahabharata, where the five Pandavas are believed to have built one temple each; Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple by Yudhishthira, Puliyur Mahavishnu Temple by Bheema, Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple by Arjuna, Thiruvanvandoor Mahavishnu Temple by Nakula and Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Temple by Sahadeva.
The temple is open from 4 am to 11:00 am and 5 pm to 8 pm and is administered by Travancore Devaswom Board of the Government of Kerala.
Legend and history
It is one of the five ancient shrines in the Chengannur area of Kerala, connected with the legend of Mahabharata. Legend has it that the Pandava princes, after crowning Parikshit as king of Hastinapura left on a pilgrimage. On arriving on the banks of river Pamba, each one is believed to have installed a tutelary image of Krishna; Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple by Yudhishthira, Puliyur Mahavishnu Temple by Bhima, Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple by Arjuna, Thiruvanvandoor Mahavishnu Temple by Nakula and Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Temple by Sahadeva.
The famous Pamba river is near the temple and hence the name of the deity is Paambanaiappan. As per another legend, the temple is believed to be consecrated by the sage Bhrigu. The temple is counted as one of the five temples built and worshipped by Pandavas from Mahabharatha.
Earliest references to this temple appear in the poems and hymns composed by the greatest of Alvar saints – Nammalvar, in circa 800 CE. Stone inscriptions in the temple date it back to the Second Chera Empire (800 – 1102 CE).The temple is open from 4 am to 11:00 am and 5 pm to 8 pm and is administered by Travancore Devaswom Board of the Government of Kerala.
