Lake temple Anantapura,Kerala .temple purohit.com |
Lake temple Ananthapura, Kerala keralatourism.org |
A Hindu temple in the middle of a lake in Kerala? Yes, there is a Hindu temple - only one in this state in the small village of Ananthapura/ Ichilampady of Kasaragod District. The belief has been that this temple is the original seat (Moolasthanam) of Anantha Padmanabha Swami and, the presiding god of the famous temple in Thiruvananthapuram, first settled in the lake temple. The deity in the lake temple is said to visit the temple in the capital city through a cave in a corner of the lake. The small cave is purported to be connected with the shrine there in Thiruvananthapuram.
Lake temple Ananthapura, Kerala upload.wikimedia.org/ |
Realizing the boy was none other than God Vishnu, repentant as he was, the grief-stricken sage went out in search of the boy through the cave where he had disappeared. After a long search moving down south sage Vilwamangalam saw the child in the wooded area close to the sea. The moment he saw, the boy disappeared into huge ilippa tree (Indian butter tree or Mahua tree) and the tree fell down and took the form of Lord Vishnu in a lying posture (Ananthasayanam) on the coiled bed of a big hooded serpent- Adisesha.
The temple is a small one with the sanctum /sreekovil namaskara mandapam, thitappalli, etc. There is a shrine dedicated to Jala-Durga. The foot bridge is connected to the namaskara mandapam and the sreekovil. There are beautiful wooden carvings on the ceiling of the mandapam depicting various episodes from Dasavatharam (the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu). Some of the episodes are in painting.
Dwarapalakas (Jays and Vijaya), sentinels on either side of the entrance to the garbhagriha / sreekovil are not made either of metal or stone, but of quality wood. It is rare to see wooden Dwarapalakas in perumal temples.
Unlike other temples the main idols of this temple are not made of either stone or metal, raher an amalgam of more than 70 medicinal materials called `kadu-sharkara-yogam.' Panchaloha idols donated by the Kanchi Mutt (when Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal was the Peetadhipathi), Kanchipuram have been in use since 1972, replacing the wooden ones. Efforts are on now to reinstall the idols made with `kadu-sharkara-yogam (made of herbs).
The temple can be reached from the nearest major railway station- Kumbla railway station which is about 5 km from here. Mangalore Airport is nearby about 54 km. Surrounded by hills, the tempe in the midst of a placid lake, provides a soothing ambiance to the devotees who visit the temple for peace of mind and the lord's blessing to lead a contented life.
https://www.keralatourism.org/photo-gallery/ananthapura-lake-temple/1609
https://www.templepurohit.com/hindu-temple/ananthapura-lake-temple-kerala