Sree Krishna Swamy Temple
The holy and ancient Sri Krishna Swamy Temple is located at the heart of Mavelikkara town, facing towards the east. The main deity of this temple is the four-armed Sri Krishna – Chatur Bahu, with two arms stretching out for butter. Among the temples under the Travancore Devaswom, the Sri Krishna Swami temple at Mavelikara is the only one where Vakacharthu takes place. The custom of parading Lord Krishna on Garuda (Eagle) Vahana is prevalent only at the temples of Aranmula and Mavelikara.
According to history, this temple belonged to the Idaserry family, which ruled the region with Mavelikkara as its capital. In 1731 CE, the last king of the Swaroopam gave the temple and its properties to Marthanda Varma Maharaja of Travancore. Legend has it that a servant of the Idaserry family, who was devoted to God, found a statue while clearing the land. The servant unknowingly struck the hand of the statue while cleaning, which started to bleed. The statue was brought to the Idaserry family, and as per astrological predictions, it was proved to be Lord Krishna taking butter. It had to be installed in a properly constructed temple. With the help of the king named Matathinkore, a small temple was constructed, and a temporary installation was made by Kulakkadu Nampimatthham Pandaram, who was an expert in tantric rituals. There is a huge oil lamp (sthamba vilakku) in front of the temple donated by soldiers of Travancore.
To the north of the temple, on the east-west direction, is the banquet hall capable of accommodating a thousand people. This banquet hall was to serve the purpose of providing food and rest for the Brahman scholars who used to go on foot to the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple to take part in the ritual of Murajapam. There was a very beautiful garden to the north of the banquet hall on the eastern side. In the past, flowers from this garden were sufficient to fulfill the requirements of all the temples under the Mavelikara Devaswam. This garden was known as the Garden of God. The Vakacharthu of the Sri Guruvayur Sree Krishna Swami temple is evidently very famous. Many years ago, the holy bath of Lord Krishna was in the Achankovil river, to the north of the Michel junction. The rock on which the Lord was offered worship after his bath is still there. Now his holy bath takes place at the Kandiyur Snanaghattam.
This is the Nirmalya/Viswarupa Darsan where the Lord is adorned with the flowers and garlands of the previous day. After this, the Lord is bathed with sesame (til) oil, water poured from a shankha (conch) and pot, after which the oil is removed using the bark of the 'vaka' tree. This ritual is called 'Vakacharthu'.
Location
Mavelikara
Main Deity
Lord Sree Krishna
Other Deities
Ganapathi, Shiva & Navagrahas (9 Planets)
Festivals
The 10-day annual festival in the temple ends with Arattu on Thiruvonam nakshatra in Meenam month. Ashtami Rohini in Chingam month is another important festival here. . The main offering during the festival is the Dasavatharacharthu.
Main Offerings
Thrikkay Vennayootu and the Garuda Vahana Parade are the main offerings of the temple.
How To Reach
Chettikulangara Chunakkara Road, Old Mavelikkara, Mavelikkara