Aranmula Temple

Famous Temples In Kerala

The famous Aranmula temple is located in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala. This temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna, the main idiol is of lord Krishna also called as Sree Parthasarathy, who is the leader of Arjuna in Kurukshetra War.
It is one of the most important Krishna temples in Kerala, the others being at Guruvayur, Trichambaram, Tiruvarppu and Ambalappuzha. The temple has fine murals from the 18th century.
This temple is situated on the banks of the river Pampa. The sacred jewels of Ayyappan (Thiruvabharanam) are taken in procession to Sabarimala each year from Pandalam, and Aranmula Temple is one of the stops on the way. Also, the Thanka Anki (golden attire) for Ayyappa, donated by the king of Travancore, is stored here and taken to Sabarimala during the Mandala season (late December). Hundreds of devotees, including women and children, come to this small temple town of Aranmula to worship the sacred attire and to witness the ceremonial procession.
Some of the main festivals celebrated here are Thiruvonam(Chingam), Ashtami Rohini Vallasadya(Chingam), Thiruvaranmula Thiruvulsavam, Makara Sankranthi, Kumbha sankramam(Kumbham), Vishu and Ramayana Parayanam
Apart from the famous temple, Aranmula is also known for the watersports involving a spectacular procession of snake boats .The Aranmula Vallamkali, the world famous water carnival is the main important event related to this place and The famous Aranmula Mirror, locally known as Arunmula Kannadi, meaning mirror, is made here. This mirror is made out of high tin bronze. Other than that the is famous Aranmula palace which is a traditional keralite palace which has a history of 200 years. Aranmula palace (Also known as Aranmula Vadake kottaram or Aranmula Kottaram) is the halt place of the holy journey ‘Thiruvabarana khosayatra’ at Aranmula.