Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple of Thrissur, Kerala - a participating temple in the famous ''Thrissur ''Poorum''

Navrang India October 08, 2020


Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple, Thrissur, Kerala    bluebirdtravels.in

Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple located about 1 km  from Thrissur town is a popular temple where the devotees can hear regular  chanting of the  Bhagvad Gita.  The principal deity  is  Child Krishna locally referred to as  ''Unnikrishna''. Unlike many Hindu temples of south India, where the temple is dedicated to just one God or Goddess, here in this temple besides God Sri Krishna, Goddess Bhagavathy is also worshiped with equal religious fervor and there is a separate shrine for the goddess.    

Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple,Thrissur, Kerala   holidayiq.com

Navarathri and Pooram in the  Malayalam month of  ''Medam'' (April-May) are the popular festivals here, particularly the latter. Goddess Bhagavathy  of this temple is taken in a procession  to the main Poorum venue as part of Thrissur Poorum festival. As a matter of fact  the Thrissur Pooram starts off  from this temple (Madathil Varavu) with the colorful ceremonious procession.  The other festivals are  Ashtami Rohini and annual festival held  in Kumbham (February-March). The temple is believed to be the only temple in Thrissur with a gold-plated flag-mast  and celebrates   the highest number of festivals on all auspicious days in Kerala.

The legend related to this temple is as follows:  Idakkalathur village near Thrissur was the earlier home of the idol. In the wake of a ruckus between two warring groups groups, there were threats to the idol. Reason: A  girl from a respected  family fell  in love 

Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple,Thrissur, Kerala  bluebirdtravels.in

with a young man from a different religion. So in the 16th century, in the midst of chaos, the idol was  shifted to a Brahmin  house -   Kachanapalli Illam at Thrissur for safe custody.  The Brahmin family took the responsibility of building a suitable temple and had the idol consecrated there as per temple Agama Sastras.  An interesting fact is the idol is that of  Parthasarathy (Sri Krishna was a charioteer for Arjuna in the Kurushetra war in the epic Mahabharata)  and  was continued to be worshipped as Unnikrishnan. The temple is being managed by Thiruvambady Devaswom, a body elected by the devotees.

In the later period, there  was no successor in the Brahmin family, to take care of their family deity - Goddess  Bhagavathy.  The goddess  had to be taken care of in the absence of a family member.  So the goddess  was also consecrated in a separate shrine on the temple premises.  The Goddess is  a regular participant of the famous annual Thrissur Pooram from Thiruvambady temple. The renovation of the temple was done by  the ruler of Cochin - Sakthan Thampuran,  

There is an interesting legend with respect to renovation of this temple. Way back in 1800 the ruler had built water tanks at  the Thekkinkadu Maidan, close  to Vadakkunathan Temple  for the benefit  of cattle at Thrissur  that would go in search of water. Using elephants, they used to bring water from Viyyur (10 km from Thrissur) to that place.  One day when the elephants  tried to cross that place where the temple was located,  they refused to move forward and refused to obey the command of the Mahouts. On hearing this, the ruler came to this place and  found out the shrine right before the elephants was in a dilapidated condition and apparently had not been used for a long time. Immediately, he took a decision to bring the temple back to glory. Surprisingly, the elephants  were back to work.  Soon  king Sakthan Thampuran renovated the temple. The other deities in this temple are  God Ganapathi  and Dampadi Rakshas. Worship hours:  5am to 11 am and 5 pm till 8.30 pm. 

Tit-Bits: 

Thrissur Pooram  en.wikipedia.org

Thrissur Pooram (Thrissur Puram) that was first initiated by Raja Rama Varma, commonly known as Sakthan Thampuran, the Maharaja of Cochin (1790–1805),  is an important colorful annual Hindu religious  festival held in Kerala. It is held at the Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur city - the main venue every year on the Pooram day - the day when the moon rises with the Pooram star in the Malayalam Calendar month of Medam. It is the largest and most famous of all poorams. An interesting feature is the assembly of a large number of caparisoned and decorated elephants. right in front of  Vadakkunnathan Temple (dedicated to God Shiva).

https://www.bluebirdtravels.in/thiruvambadi-krishna-temple/

http://keralatemples.info/temple/thiruvambadi-sri-krishna-temple/140