Thrippadapuram (Thrippappur) Mahadeva and Mahavishnu Temples

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The popular lore about Sage Vilwamangalam catching a glimpse of Mahavishnu in the Ananthasayee pose at Ananthankadu is quite familiar to devotees. The Lord, stretching on Anantha the divine serpent, with his head at Thiruvallam, his navel at Ananthankadu, and his lotus feet at Thrippadapuram overwhelmed the sage, upon whose fervent request Vishnu shrank himself to a more comprehensible size ('thrice the length of the sage's staff'). Vilawamangalam Swamiyar consecrated Ananthasayee then and there, and the Lord is today seen as Anantha Padmanabha in the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. The 'scene of action' is represented today by the Ananthankadu Nagar temple in the north-west corner of the great shrine.

Thiruvallam today is famous for the very popular and much frequented Parasurama temple, while Thrippadapuram somehow has been out of the popular pilgrim circuit. A short detour from the city bypass road near Technopark will take you to the ancient Thrippappur Mahadeva and Vishnu temples on the Sreekaryam-Kulathur road. Today's Thrippadapuram in the days of yore was known as Thrippappur, as the Venad royals (Thrippappur Swarupam) had their seat there, and Thrippappur Mooppan was the royal custodian of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. Clearly today's place name echoes the connection with the holy feet of the Lord, an impression of which can be seen on a rock within a shrine here.

The undulating rocky terrain once must have been part of a forest and legend has it that it was here that Mahadeva in the Kiratamurti aspect set out to quell the ego of Arjuna. It is interesting to note that the Mahadeva temple here is the better known one than the Vishnu shrine. However, there is an interesting connection between the two. The belief is that it is the divine flute music of Lord Vishnu, ensconced within the sanctum in the east and facing Mahadeva, which ameliorates the angry mood of the Kiratamurthy, transforming him to a mellower and benign aspect. This belief is borne out by the rare practice of permitting the full circumambulation of the Siva sanctum here--as against the normal practice at Siva temples to break the circumambulation at the 'pranali', the outlet for the abhishekam water, and then complete the circumambulation in an anti-clockwise fashion, as it is thought that the 'shakti' flowing out cannot be borne by humans.

The copper sheet-roofed Mahadeva sanctum is east-facing, and is unique in that the circular sanctum has a contiguous rectangular 'mukha mandapam' with wooden lattice walls. The square four-pillared Namaskara Mandapam houses a Nandi facing the Lord. Its wooden ceiling is ornate with detailed carvings of Brahma and Ashta Dikpalakars. The Balikkalpura ceiling also has fine wood carvings that testify to the artistry of the ancient Sthapathis.

What is unique and interesting about this ancient temple is the presence on the south side of the sanctum (within the Nalambalam itself) a Linga pratishta known as 'Idam Kodutha Mahadevan'. This Lingam is supposed to be the original, and it was shifted to its present location so that the new sanctum could be erected in the place vacated by the original Lingam.

There is a perennial spring in the rock called the 'Kannu Theertham' or 'Nayana Theertham' as it is in the shape of an eye. The belief is that the waters represent the tears of Parvati. There are also ancient rock-cut shrines for various aspects of Mahadeva around the temple, which are likely to be much older than the temple.

The Vishnu sanctum to the east faces that of Mahadeva and is also circular, but with a fish-tile roof, obviously done as part of a later renovation/restoration. The idol is in a standing posture with a flute, the divine notes of which are believed to be instrumental in transforming the mood of the 'rudra moorthy' in the sanctum opposite. Of course, the main attraction for devotees here is the feet marks of Vishnu ('thrippadam') on the rock.

The temple celebrates two annual festivals--the seven-day Meda Thiruvathira Mahotsavam is in honour of Siva,  while the ten-day  Meena Rohini Mahotsavam is for Vishnu. Both the occasions are crowd pullers when travellers and pilgrims alike make a beeline for the temples.

For the traveller and pilgrim planning a circuit of the major temples of Thiru Ananathapuram, these less frequented shrines offer an easy opportunity to experience some unique aspects from the culturally rich past of our land.

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