हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Pambanaiyappan Temple, Thiruvanvandoor

Nakula’s temple among the five of the Pandavas, near the Pamba. Nammalvar’s whole decad on it is recited here in a festival that runs for weeks.

Built: Ancient Kerala temple with inscriptions of the later Chera kingdomWhere: Kerala (Alappuzha district, near Chengannur)Deity: Pambanaiyappan, standing; Thayar Kamalavalli9.34° N, 76.58° E
  1. Alvar period
Photo: Ssriram mt · CC BY-SA 4.0

01Nakula and Narada

Kerala’s tradition gives this temple to Nakula, fourth of the Pandavas, who installed Krishna here on the pilgrimage after Parikshit’s crowning. The temple also says Narada did tapas here and taught the Narada Purana, and that the sage Bhrigu consecrated the shrine. The name Pambanaiyappan joins the Lord to the Pamba, Kerala’s holy river, which flows close by. The temple is under the Travancore Devaswom Board.

02The Thiruvaimozhi festival

Nammalvar sang Thiruvanvandur in the first decad of the sixth hundred of the Thiruvaimozhi, eleven pasurams, sending birds as messengers to the Lord of the town. Stone inscriptions in the temple belong to the later Chera kingdom of Mahodayapuram. The temple keeps a long Thiruvaimozhi festival in Nammalvar’s honour, and its aarattu at the river. The building follows Kerala form with a two-storeyed gopuram, walled compound and round sanctum.

The life of this place

  1. Alvar periodNammalvar sings Thiruvanvandur in the Thiruvaimozhi.
Visiting

About 5 km north-west of Chengannur. Open roughly 4–11 a.m. and 5–8 p.m.

Nearby

Thrichittatt Mahavishnu Temple, Chengannur (Thiruchengundrur)Standing
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Thrichittatt Mahavishnu Temple, Chengannur (Thiruchengundrur)

Yudhishthira’s temple among the five of the Pandavas. The temple says he came here to atone for the one half-truth of his life, spoken at Kurukshetra to bring down Drona.

Sreevallabha Temple, Thiruvalla (Thiruvallavazh)Standing
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Sreevallabha Temple, Thiruvalla (Thiruvallavazh)

One of the largest temple compounds of Kerala, where Kathakali is performed as an offering almost every night. The Lord came here as a young brahmachari to kill the asura Thukalasura for a devout old woman.

Mayapiran Temple, ThiruppuliyurStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Mayapiran Temple, Thiruppuliyur

Bhima’s temple among the five of the Pandavas, large as befits the strongest brother. The Saptarishis are said to have won moksha here after refusing a king’s gold.

Thrikkodithanam Mahavishnu Temple (Thirukkadithanam)Standing
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Thrikkodithanam Mahavishnu Temple (Thirukkadithanam)

The temple of Sahadeva, youngest of the Pandavas, one of the five Pandava temples of the Pamba country. A stone figure by the pond is the servant who kept devotees waiting at a closed door.