Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Padmanabhaswamy Temple

Location: Trivandrum

State: Kerala

Principle Deity: Sri Padmanabha(Lord Vishnu)

Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple

Padmanabhaswamy temple (aka Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple),is a famous Hindu temple of Lord Vishnu, located inside the East Fort in city of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. The temple is one of the 108 divya desam, the holiest abodes of Lord Vishnu and the main deity, Padmanabhaswamy is a form of Vishnu in Anananthasayanam posture (in eternal sleep of yognidra). This is an ancient temple and the city of Thiruvananthapuram derives its name from the name of the presiding deity enshrined in the temple. History

King Marthanda Varma, Maharaja of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, did the last major renovation. He dedicated his kingdom to the deity, and pledged that he and his descendants would serve the kingdom as Padmanabha Dasa, meaning "servants of the Lord Padmanabha". With this, Sri Padmanabha became the nominal head of the state of Travancore, assuming the title Perumal, the Emperor. The British Government saluted the Lord with 21-gun salute, a military tradition of colonial days, which was continued by the Indian Army until the abolition of the privy purses by Government of India with Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister. The royal insignia of the Lord, The Valampiri Shankhu or sinistral conch-shell, served as the State emblem of Travancore and even continued so for some time after the re-organisation of the States. Sri Padmanabha is still regarded as regional deity of Travancore[citation needed]. The two annual festivals of the Temple culminates with a grand procession, with the three deities (Sree Padmanabha, Narasimha Swamy and Krishna) carried on flower-decked and aesthetically decorated Garuda Vahanas to the Shankhumukhom beach, for 'aaraattu' (sacramental ablution). The 'aarattu' days are declared as local public holidays in Thiruvanathapuram.