Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy Temple
The temple is known as the moolasthanam, the original source, of the Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala State, which is in the far south. Here, in the Sreekovil, the sanctum sanctorum, of the temple, Sri Anantha Padbhanabha is depicted as seated on the divine serpent Anantha, while in the Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple of Thiruvananthapuram, the Lord is reclining on Anantha. On both the sides of the Lord are Bhoodevi, the Goddess of Earth and Sreedevi, the Godess of Prosperity. Garuda and Hanuman stand in front of them praying with folded hands. Heavely maidens tan the Lord and his consorts from behind. Jaya and Vijaya, Lord Vishnu’s attendants, stand in guard at the entrance.
The Sreekovil is surrounded by a rectangular lake. The Gopuram, the temple edifice, and the Sreekovil are connected by a small bridge. On the outer walls of the Sreekovil there are marvellous and ancient mural paintings on Puranic themes. To protect these paintings an outer wall was constructed around the Sreekovil in recent times.
A very unusual phenonmenon of this temple is the presence of a single crocodile in the temple lake, named ‘Babia’. By tradition, the lake is inhabited by a single corcodile and in the memory of the very aged men the present crocodile happens to be the third one they have seen. When one crocodile dies another one inevisbly appears in the lake and this continues to be an unexplained phenomenon. There is no river or pond nearby where crocodiles exist. The Crocodile is friendly and harmless to human being.
Location
Ananthapura
Main Deity
Lord Vishnu
Other Deities
Goshalee Krishna, Mahisha Mardhini, Ullakulu, Mahaganapati
Festivals
Annual Festival
Main Offerings
Shashwata Pooja, Brahmopadesham (Upanayanam)
How To Reach
The nearest major railway station to Ananthapura Lake Temple is Kumbla railway station which is about 5 km from here.
Mangalore Airport is the nearest airport which is about 54 km (via NH66) from here and whereas Kannur International Airport is about 123 km.
To reach there by road one has to take a deviation from Naikap (4 km from Kumbla) on the Kumbala-Badiyadka road.