My mom was always very excited about visiting the richest temple in the world – yeah you heard me right! – the richest temple in the world.
It was February of 2019, and we decided to tick off Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple from our wish list (for some, a bucket list). The long wait was coming to an end. The Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple is located in Trivandrum (the capital of Kerala). The temple is worth over 90,000 crores (that’s an equivalent of 22 billion dollars!). The temple treasure trove holds a collection of valuable objects, including thrones made out of gold, crowns, coins, statues, ornaments, diamonds and other precious stones. It is believed that the temple holds six vaults filled with precious wealth!
Day 1 - Exploring cultural capital of Kerala
It was February 4 and a very cold evening. My parents stuffed their bags with winter wear and boarded the Bangalore to Thrissur train. The train was scheduled to reach Thrissur by 6 am; it arrived on time. A taxi was arranged to reach the hotel, located a few kilometres away from the Thrissur railway station.
The excitement of exploring Thrissur was at a peak. My parents were geared up at the blink of an eye (or two) to go on a Thrissur tour. Thrissur is popularly known as the cultural capital of Kerala. The Thrissur Pooram festival that occurs every year is a star attraction and draws crowds from all over. The event is held in the Vadakkunnathan Temple on the day the moon rises with the Pooram star in the Malayalam calendar month of Medam.
The day began with a visit to the Vadakkumnathan Temple, an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is situated in the city of Thrissur and is a classic example of the architectural style of Kerala. It has a monumental tower on each of its four sides (in addition to a kuttambalam). Mural paintings depict various scenes from the Mahabharata; these can be seen inside the temple. The shrines and the kuttambalam display vignettes carved in wood. The temple has been declared as a national monument by India under The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains act. The temple opens daily at 4 am and closes at 10 am. It reopens at 4.30 pm and closes at 8.20 pm (after Trippuka, the last rite of the day). Three poojas are performed on a daily basis. No deities are taken out from the temple for a procession.
After spending some blissful moments at the Vadakkumnathan Temple, it was time to explore the cultural capital of Thrissur. The local language was a bit of a constraint for my parents, as they were unable to communicate in Malayalam. Thrissur is popular for its cultural sites within the city and outside, too. The Thrissur zoo is a famous tourist attractions (for those visiting Thrissur). After lunch, my parents took a bus to Guruvayur from the Thrissur bus station (an hour’s journey covering 30 kms). After a decent journey in the local bus, my parents reached Guruvayur by 3 pm and checked in at the Avanti Inn Hotel (booked through Booking.com). It was close to 5 pm. My parents stepped out to visit the famous temple of Guruvayur. The climate was very pleasant.
Guruvayur is a Krishan temple, one of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Kerala (often referred to as the Bhuloka Vaikunta – the holy abode of Lord Vishnu on Earth). The presiding deity of the Guruvayur Temple is Guruvayoorappan (Lord Vishnu, who is worshipped in the form of his avatar – Krishna). The central icon is a four-armed standing Lord Vishnu carrying the conch Panchajanya, the discus Sudarshana Chakra, the mace Kaumodaki and a lotus with a holy basil garland. This image represents the majestic form of Lord Vishnu (as revealed to Krishna’s parents Vasudeva and Devaki around the time of Lord Krishna’s birth). Worship occurs according to the routines laid down by Adi Shankara.
After completing darshan and seeking blessings from Lord Krishna, my parents headed for dinner. By 9 pm, they were back at the hotel to catch up on some much-needed rest and restart a new day.
Day 2 - Holy abode of Vishnu
It was 6th of February. My parents visited the Guruvayur temple in the morning to offer morning seva to Lord Krishna. My mom, to this day, recalls those electrifying moments during Lord Krishna’s darshan. Guruvayur is one of the most welcoming of Hindu pilgrimages. Devotees visit Guruvayur all throughout the year. It was time to explore some well-known places in Guruvayur. With the help of the hotel receptionist, an auto rickshaw was hired (for the overseas visitor to this blog – the auto rickshaw is fondly called a tuk tuk). The auto rickshaw driver was also our parent’s tour guide in Guruvayur. My parents visited (to mention the name of the places) and were back at the hotel by 5 pm. After an early dinner, they boarded the train to Trivandrum. The train was scheduled to depart at 9 pm from the Guruvayur railway station. After travelling over 250 kms, the train reached Trivandrum by 4 pm. My parents took a taxi to reach the hotel.
I was at Trivandrum airport by 2 am after taking an overnight flight from Dubai. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a man waiting with my name board (the taxi driver). What was a warm welcome to Trivandrum! He drove me straight to the hotel. After minimum paperwork, I got the keys to my room. I tried sleeping but failed miserably. I was over excited to meet my parents and to continue our journey in God’s own country – Kerala.
Day 3 - The Divine
It was 4.30 am. The doorbell rang. I jumped out of bed to welcome my parents. We greeted each other warmly and narrated our individual journeys (on how we made it to Trivandrum). After trying very hard, we managed to grab a few hours of sleep. As usual, I was the last one to get ready and leave from the hotel. The man in charge of the hotel guided us to the temple and was very helpful. As soon as we stepped out of the hotel, it was time for a family selfie.
It was a 12-minute walk to the temple from our hotel. Shops on either side of the road were getting ready to start their day and resume business. The fresh aroma of tea wafted through the air and tickled my nose; it was very inviting but we decided to skip the tea break and moved one step closer to the temple.
The moment dawned upon us. We were a few steps away from entering the richest temple – the Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum. Thiruvananthapuram in Malayalam translates to The City of Lord Ananta (referring to the deity of the Padmanabhaswamy temple). The principal deity is Lord Vishnu, enshrined in the Anantha Shayana posture, the eternal yogic sleep on the serpent Adi Shesha. The temple is one of 108 principal Divya Desams in Vaishnavism and is glorified in the Divya Prabandha. Inside the temple, there are two other important shrines: Ugra Narasimha and Krishna Swami.
The temple is built in an intricate fusion of the Chera and Dravidian styles of architecture, featuring high walls and a sixteenth century gopura. The foundation of the present gopuram was laid in 1566. The temple has a 100-foot (30 m), seven-tier gopuram made in Pandyan style. The temple stands by the side of Padma Theertham. It has a corridor with 365 and one-quarter sculptured granite-stone pillars with elaborate carvings that stand out to be the ultimate testimonial for the Vishwakarma sthapathis in sculpting this architectural masterpiece. The corridor extends from the Eastern side into the sanctum sanctorum. An 80-foot (24 m) flagstaff stands in front of the main entry from the prakaram.
After seeking blessing from Lord Vishnu, we were walking out of the parakrama filled with plenty of positivity. Mom and dad were super happy, as we all had ample time to offer our prayers in front of the shrine. I was stunned to notice that the temple wasn’t as crowded as other temples. People were blessed with positive vibes and were having a good time with their loved ones. Honestly, I felt so calm walking out of the temple. Sign boards were in place help devotees make their way around the temple.
It was time for my favourite part – some delicious breakfast in Trivandrum. We made our way to one of the restaurants that offered us a good variety of food. A sip of fresh tea made out of fresh milk added an abundance of energy to make my day extra special. Our taxi driver was geared up to take us all on a local tour in Trivandrum. We managed to visit the below places:
- Poovar Backwaters – Poovar is a small coastal village inhabited mainly by fishermen. It is located 35 km from Trivandrum and about 20 km from Kovalam. The Poovar Island is surrounded by a river called Neyyar. There are few resorts located on the banks of this river. One can navigate these back waters. These backwaters connect to beaches and other tourist attractions. We opted for a motorboat cruise, which took us through the backwaters. We were fascinated by the beauty of God’s own country. We were each provided a life jacket, and we began exploring the place along with our motorboat guide. We were lucky to spot a kingfisher and several incredible bird species during the course of our journey. In those 60 minutes on the motorboat, we passed through an elephant Rock, a floating restaurant and a golden sand beach.
After completing our journey, I felt that the tour was overpriced based on what we were able to see versus the promises made by the guide to us before making the booking. I would definitely recommend everyone to try this and relive some fabulous moments with your family (only if you manage to crack a good deal, though!)
- Sagarika Marine Aquarium – a small and tidy place offering a unique perspective on marine life. It took us less than 15 minutes to navigate this place. (We were the only tourists at that point in time!)
- Kovalam Beach – Our final destination for the day was to spend some quality time at Kovalam beach and enjoy a few gloaming scenes. By 4.30 pm, we were on top of the light house to witness the beauty of the Kovalam beach. It was an absolute treat to our eyes to capture the never-ending turquoise colour of the Arabian sea. The temperature was perfect to enjoy the fabulous evening at the beach. However, the clouds unified to take away the glorious scenes of sunset at the beach. With a little bit of disappointment, we made our way back to the taxi, went back to the hotel and took adequate rest.
Day 4 - Vivekananda Rock Memorial
All of us were super excited. We were about to travel to Kanyakumari by road, a distance of 101 kms (which would take us approximately three hours). We visited (to check with mom) temple which was in my mom’s list of temples to visit. As per plan, we made it for lunch to the hotel at Kanyakumari. After lots of research (as I wanted a room with an absolutely stunning view of the sea), I booked rooms at hotel Maadhini. I was lucky to get a room in accordance with my wishes. The views were remarkable. All of us were delighted. We lounged for a long time in the balcony, and the heavenly breeze played a trick on our minds to keep us all calm and relaxed.
It was close to 3 pm when we started to head to the Vivekananda Statue. It was pretty hot and humid, and we had to walk all the way. To reach the Vivekananda rock memorial ferry station, one needs to travel by ferry (the cost is 50 INR) and the working hours of the ferry are between 8 am and 4 pm in the evening. The queue to book a spot in the ferry was long because, on the same day, there was a day trip arranged from some school to the Vivekananda rock memorial. It was fun observing the mischievous behaviour among these students. Lots of memories rushed through my mind, and mom reminded me about how difficult it was for her to handle me when I was little.
It was mandatory to wear life jackets in the ferry. There was no policy of seat reservation; seats were grabbed on a first-come and first-served basis. There is a restriction to the number of people allowed per trip. We managed to get adjacent seats for us all. It was selfie time for everyone in the ferry. It takes between 10 and 15 minutes to reach the Vivekananda rock memorial. During the journey, one can enjoy fabulous 360-degree views on both sides. In 2003, we had been to the Vivekananda rock memorial (along with my dad and his friends) In 2019, the Vivekananda rock memorial was still heavenly and nothing had changed over the years. I was impressed with how things were managed at the site; the place was thoroughly neat and tidy. Respect to everyone at the rock memorial who have done a stellar job maintaining the place. We went around the Vivekananda rock memorial, took some pictures and created beautiful memories. I wish I could have paused time and relaxed here for a while, but we had to vacate the place before darkness setting in, as there were no ferries available to take us back. Our next destination was sunset point. We captured some blissful views, but it was cloudy and the views (if not cloudy) could have been way better. It was a mesmerising experience to capture gloaming views from the sunset point.
Night was approaching and light was fading fast. We marched towards the Kanyakumari temple. Since the number of devotees were less, we had an extra quick and successful darshan of Goddess Kanyakumari. As we were stepping out of the temple, we could see many shops adorned with eye-catching and colourful lights inviting everyone. We were delighted when we saw Saravana Bhavan at close range and none of us could resist stepping into the restaurant to have a go at their mouth-watering South Indian delicacies. The moment we stepped out of the restaurant, mom wanted to explore a few shops and check if she could possibly buy something worthwhile. After about 20 minutes, we decided to walk back to our hotel (which was located a few steps away from the place we were at). Upon reaching our rooms, all of us were again enthusiastic about the prospect of witnessing the sunset from the balcony. It was time to conclude our fabulous day with some solid sleep.
Day 5 - Pack up
We woke up early to catch a glimpse of the sunrise and some ethereal views of the Indian Ocean. We kept high expectations, but the cloudy climate played spoil sport and ruined the views (partially, although to some extent, the views were enthralling).
Since we had to travel back to Trivandrum and reach the airport by 3 pm, we checked out of the hotel by 8.30 am. It was time to say goodbye to Kanyakumari, a place that kept us entertained us for nearly 16 hours, and a place we hope to visit again in the future.
On our way to Trivandrum, we had planned to visit the Arulmigu Sree Vanamamalai Totatri Perumal Temple. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is one among 108 Divya Desam shrines. Lord Vishnu is worshipped here as Vanamalai Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Varamanagi. The temple is one of eight Sywayambu Kshetrams. The eight temples manifested on their own and are related to Lord Vishnu. Vanamamalai is believed to have appeared here to Adisesha and Garuda. Six daily rituals and a dozen yearly festivals are held at this temple. The chariot festival (celebrated during the Tamil month of Chittirai between March and April) is the most prominent
I fell in love with the architecture of the temple. The temple is believed to have been built by the Pandyas, with contributions, at a later stage, from the Vijayanagar kings and the Madurai Nayaks. The temple covers an area of 5 acres, has a five-tiered temple tower, a large five-tiered gopuram and a large temple compound with two prakarams. There are various pillared halls in the temple.
We were back on the road by 10.30 am. We had to reach Trivandrum by 2 pm after finishing our lunch and then head towards the airport. There were a few moments of silence around us as were approaching the end of this short yet fabulous trip in God’s own country. In a matter of a few hours, everything would change for us all, and we would get back to the grind of our routine life; this was a hard fact and none of us wanted to digest and accept it at the end of our trip (which only culminated at lighting speed!). I was aware that the trip was going to be short. It hit me very hard, but I didn’t expect the realisation to be so harsh.
It was 3 pm as our taxi entered the International Airport of Trivandrum. After spending ten emotional minutes and grabbing a few selfies, I made my way inside the airport, waving at my family. My parents had to rush, as they had to also catch a flight back to Bangalore at 5 pm.
So, here we are at the end of our trip – a trip to to richest temple in the world. I would totally recommend each one of you to visit Trivandrum with your loved ones.