Thodupuzha Sriskrishna Swamy Temple

Located at Thodupuzha in the northern side of Thodupuzha river. The deity is Srikrishna. Sub-deities are Bhagawathy, Ganapathy, Shiva and Nagam. The temple is owned by the famous Nedumbilly Mana of Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district. This Mana (Namboodiri/Brahmin family) has the right for conducting Thantric rites in the famous Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple of Thiruvananthapuram.

There is an exciting legend behind the deity. A village named Lakshmi was very rich in Vedic scholars, artists and variety of eminent personalities. A boy with abundant Vedic knowledge from an eminent Brahmin family opted for Sanyasam (monkism).This was well before the time of Sri Sankaracharya. He reportedly travelled throughout India. During his travel he reached Thodupuzha and meditated upon Lord Krishna. It is at the meditated spot the temple stands. During the meditation he visioned Lord Krishna splitting the peck of an Owl when it attempted to swallow the Lord. He opened the eyes after finishing the meditation and to his utter surprise and excitement the Lord Krishna was standing before him. Soon, the Lord disappeared. The Sanyasi (monk) lit a lamp at the place where the Lord was standing and worshipped.

During this period Keezhmalanadu King visited the place and he came to know what had happened. The King soon constructed a temple.

There are striking contrasts in the ritual practiced here. In all the temples the first action after opening the sanctum sanctorum is the removal of flower garlands of previous day. The ceremonial bathing follows. Thereafter Abhishekam and Usha Pooja followed. Here Usha Pooja is done first and Abhishekam followed thereafter.

There is a Nilapaduthara (holy platform) in front of the temple. The Nilapaduthara has great importance in the temple because the idol was received by the monk standing on this platform. The idol without any ornaments or festivities is brought to the platform during the festivals and is taken back garlanded and with percussion musics and other festivities.

Owl and Pigeon are the main offerings to the deity.

There is a 10-day long festival in the month of Meenam (March/April). On the 9th day an important ceremony called Utsav Bali takes place. Thousands of devotees from different parts of the State attend this ceremony.

The temple has central Kerala’s biggest Kalyanamandapam (wedding hall with stage). It is named Krishna Theertham.

• More Temples in Idukki