Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple is one of the famous temples situated in Tripunithura, Kerala. Lord Vishnu is the presiding deity worshipped in the form of Santhanagopala Murthy. Here, Santhanagopalamoorthy means “savior of Infants” is an incarnation of Sri Maha Vishnu. Vishnu is seen here in a sitting posture under the shade of five hoods of Ananthan. This is a unique pose unlike the other Vishnu temples where the Lord is usually found in a reclining posture on the divine serpent, Anantha The folded body of the serpent itself serves as the seat for the God. The two upper hands of Lord Vishnu hold Sanku (conch) and Sudarshana Chakram (holy wheel) and the lower right hand holds the Padmam (Lotus flower).
The name Poornathrayeesa defined as follows , “thra” means three; ‘poorna’ means complete and ‘isa’ means Iswara which means the Lord of Knowledge, or the Lord of the Three Vedas – Rik, Yajus and Sama. It also means the Lord who manifests himself as the essence of the Vedas, who can be attained through inner saadhana. Traditions say that Lord Vishnu offered the idol of Sree Poornathrayeesa to Arjuna (the third of the five Pandava brothers), when he sought the help of the Lord to give rebirth to the ten children of a Brahmin. The ten children and the sacred idol were taken by Arjuna in his chariot and he handed over the children to the Brahmin. In memory of this event, a temple was built with a sanctum-sanctorum in the form of a chariot.Devotees can also have a look at the idol of Lord Ganapathi on the extreme south side of the sanctum-sanctorum. It must be noted that, besides the idol of Lord Ganesha, no other Upadevatas are worshipped at Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple.
Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple Pooja Timings:
Palliunarthal 03.45 AM
Temple opens 04.00 AM
Ushapooja 05.00 AM
KalabhaabhishekAM 06.00 AM – 06.30 AM
Ethrithapooja 06.30 AM
Sheeveli 06.45 AM
Pandeeradi pooja 07.30 AM
Uchapooja 11.00 AM
Uchasheeveli 11.15 AM
Temple opens 04.00 PM
Deeparadhana 06.00 PM
Athazha Pooja 07.30 PM
Athazhasheeveli 08.00 PM
Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple History:
Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple is the only temple in South India where you can see an odd pose of Lord Vishnu, sitting under the shade of five royal hoods of the divine serpent, Ananthan, whose folded body itself acts as the throne for God. Devotees worship the almighty here as “Santhaana Gopaala Moorthy”(Savior of infants). Anecdotes say that this beautiful idol of Sree Poornathrayeesa was presented to Arjuna by Lord Vishnu, while the former sought the help of the Supreme being to give rebirth to the ten children of a brahmin (believed to be a member of Puliyannur Illom, ancestral home of the chief priest of the temple). Arjuna along with the ten children and the holy idol returned in his chariot and handed over the children to the brahmin. Later a temple was built here in memory of this event and the sanctum-sanctorum (Sree Kovil) of this temple (presently known as Muthukulangara) is in the form of a chariot. Arjuna sent lord Vighnesha to search for a holy place for the installation of the idol of Lord Vishnu. First, they kept the idol in a palace, half a kilometer west to the main temple and now it is popularly known as ‘Poonithura Kottaram’.
Attracted by the holiness of the ancient Vedic Village, POORNAVEDAPURAM, (now Tripunithura), lord Vighnesha himself occupied the place. Angry Arjuna kicked him aside to the southern side of the sanctum and installed the idol in that holy place surrounded by mustard fields. He then plucked some mustard seeds and crushed them to get oil for lighting the lamp in front of the idol. Devotees consider the ever-shining “Valia Vilakku” situated in front of the idol, as the oil lamp lighted by Arjuna. Burnt oil of this traditional lamp possesses great medicinal value. The deity, ever since has been living in the minds and hearts of devotees as Santhanagopala Moorthy, blessing the needy, infertile couples with children.
Stories relating to Sree Poornathrayeesa as the elder brother of the goddesses of Chottanikkara and Pishari temples are also popular among the people. Lord Poornathrayeesa is also believed to be wedded to a Namboothiri girl,”Nangema”, from Vadakkedathu Mana. Deities from local temples like “Perumthrikovil”(Lord Shiva) and “Pishari kovil”(Lakshmi) will come here during their annual festive occasions to participate in a combined procession, locally termed as “Sankara Narayana Vilakku”(Shiva and Vishnu) and “Laksmi Narayana Vilakku”(Goddess Laksmi and Lord Vishnu) respectively. Aarattu (the holy bath of the deity) after the annual festival of Sree Poornathrayeesa takes place at the temple pond of Chakkamkulangara Shiva Temple, nearly half a kilometer North-East to Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple.
The entire structure of the temple except for the West Gopuram (Gateway) was redesigned in the year 1921 by the great architect Late Sri Eachara Warrier. Before that, the temple structure was in a reduced form with a tiled roof and wooden ceiling. The east gopuram was also smaller than the present structure.
In 1920 (the Malayalam year 1096) the entire structure other than the west gopuram was destroyed in an accidental fire. Fortunately, the devotees could save the main idol from fire by covering it with a huge vessel coated with clay. The other idols were shifted to Puthan Bungalow (Family temple of the Cochin Royal Family) and the King of Cochin state ordered to reconstruct the temple structure by completely avoiding the accident-prone woodworks. In accordance with the King’s order, Eachara Warrier skillfully blended the traditional architecture with the modern means of construction like concrete and reconstructed the temple with fireproof materials like Copper, Concrete, Granite and Bronze.
The west gopuram which could survive the devastating fire of 1920 is believed to be built by some divine powers and the age of this structure, still remains a mystery. Here the divine sculptures in their crude form bear a unique beauty. The first floor of this two-storied gopuram consists of a mandapam (Dias), supported by eight beautifully carved wooden pillars.
Representing the Lord of Vaikunta and Yoganarayan, the deity is the Lord incarnate of the triune Vedas.
Ensconced with Goddess of Earth, Bhoomi Devi, and Goddess of Prosperity, Lakshmi Devi, under the umbrella-like hoods of the Serpent King Anantha the Godhead has been the provider of all the wishes of His devotees – the giver of all the pleasures, in this world and the provider of salvation, in the other world.
Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple Festivals:
Thulam Festival
Vrichikam Festival
Moosari Festival
Festival of Nangapennu
Lakshmi Narayana Vilakku
Sankara Narayana Vilakku
Consecration day of Anantha
Uthram Thirunal
Atha Chamayam
Poornathrayeesa Temple Offerings:
Kalabham
Chandhanam charthu
Pantheerunazhi (1)
Pantheerunazhi (1/2)
Pantheerunazhi (1/4)
Paalpayasam
Appam (1 Kootu)
Appam (1/2 Kootu)
Adda
Choorunu
Vellanivedhyam
Koottupayasam
Pizhinjupayasam
Neyypayasam
Otta Namaskaram
Thiruvona Namaskaram
Bhajanam
Vivaham
1 Day Pooja
Niramala Chuttuvilakku
Sarkara Pantheerunazhi
Vahana Pooja (2 Wheeler)
Vahana Pooja (Others)
How to Reach Poornathrayeesa Temple:
By Air:
Cochin International Airport is the Nearest Airport which is 101 km away from the temple.
By Rail:
Ernakulam Jn (South) Railway Station is the Nearest Railway Station which is 121 km away from the Temple
By Road:
Kerala is well connected with other major cities
Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple Address:
Thrippunithura Devaswom,
Thrippunithura – 682301.
Phone – 0484 2774007
Email – admin@sreepoornathrayeesatemple.org