One lakh lights illuminate Sreepadmanabhaswamy temple
Published January 16, 2008 | 
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The famous Sree padmanabhaswamy Temple in the city witnessed the age old custom of ‘Lakshadeepam’ when it was observed on Tuesday. This ancient ritual traces its origin to AD 1750 where 1 lakh lighted oil lamps were used to illuminate the whole temple. This auspicious day falls on the day of the winter solstice or Makara-sankranthi as per the regional calendar.
Bringing back the rich memories of the royal past, the city participated in the celebration with gaiety. Thousands of electric bulbs and oil lamps were used to light up the towering ‘Gopuram’ or the front façade of the temple as thousands of ardent devotees awaited their turn in the serpentine queues to get into the temple to witness the special ‘Sheeveli pooja.’
By around 8PM the palanquin of the presiding deity and that of Narasimha Moorthy were brought to the eastern corridor where the head of the ruling family of erstwhile Travancore Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma presented his offerings and a length of silk cloth. After the late evening poojas special hymns composed by the legendary Swati Tirunal in praise of Sree Padmanabha were recited apart from the musical note of the day of yadukula kamboji’.
Later the three deities were taken on a procession that was led by an ox, a horse and by the Temple elephant Darshini. In this connection an elephant was also offered by the head of the royal family to the temple deity After three rounds around the temple the deities were escorted back to the sanctum sanctorum, marking the culmination of the day’s observances. Typically, the preparations for Lakshadeepam start around two months back with special recitals such as ‘murajapam.’
There are archival references of ‘makara sheeveli’ being celebrated in the Temple in AD 1459. Many dignitaries including Kerala Governor R. L. Bhatia participated in the festive occasion of Lakshadeepam.
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jayendrakumar r
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jayendrakumar r
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jayendrakumar r
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jayendrakumar r