Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple

01Arjuna’s temple

The temple’s tradition holds that after the war Arjuna, troubled by having killed Karna when he was unarmed, installed this murti of Krishna as Parthasarathy in atonement. Nammalvar sang of the Lord at Thiruvaranvilai, the old name of the place, and it is one of the 108 Divya Desams. The murti is tall and stands facing east; the temple, in the Kerala manner, has a gopura on each side, and the east gopura is approached by a flight of eighteen steps. In the treasury is kept the Thanka Anki, a golden attire offered by the Maharaja of Travancore, which is carried in procession each year to Sabarimala for the Mandala Puja.

02The Uthrattathi regatta

On the Uthrattathi day of the month of Chingam, the river in front of the temple fills with palliyodams, the long snake boats of the riverside villages, each rowed by a hundred men singing vanchipattu songs. It is a ritual more than a race, in memory of a boat that once brought offerings to the Lord. The Valla Sadya, a feast of dozens of dishes served on banana leaves to the oarsmen and pilgrims, goes on for weeks around it. Aranmula is also known for its metal mirror, the Aranmula kannadi, made by a few families of craftsmen.

The life of this place