Tirunavaya, also spelled as Thirunavaya, is a town in

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarte ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

. Situated on the northern bank of Bharatappuzha (River Ponnani/Nila or Perar), it is one of major

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

pilgrimage centres in Kerala. Tirunavaya, home to

Tirunavaya Temple Tirunavaya Temple (in full Tirunavaya Navamukunda Temple) is an ancient Hindu temple at Tirunavaya, central Kerala, India, on the northern bank of the Bharatappuzha (River Ponnani), dedicated to Navamukundan ( Narayana-Vishnu). The temple is ...

(Navamukunda/

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

Temple) and temples of Siva and

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...

(Cherutirunavaya Brahma Temple and Siva Temple/Tirunavaya Mahadeva Temple), is one of the most prominent places for bali tarpana on Karkitaka vavu in Kerala. Tirunavaya seems to be a very sacred place for the

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

from time immemorial.

Bharathappuzha Bharathappuzha ("River of Bhārata"), also known as the Nila or Ponnani River, is a river in India in the state of Kerala. With a length of 209 km, it is the second longest river that flows through Kerala after the Periyar. It flows throu ...

at Tirunavaya is considered to assume a special sanctity, because it flows between the temple of

(Navamukunda) on its right bank and the temple of

and Siva on its left. The village, situated on the fertile river basin, must have been one of the most prominent Brahmin settlement in Kerala. Tirunavaya also hosted the

Mamankam Māmānkam or Māmāngam was a ''duodecennial'' medieval fair held on the bank, and on the dry river-bed, of Pērār (River Nil̥a, River Ponnani, or Bhārathappuzha) at Tirunāvāya, southern India. The temple associated with the festival wa ...

, a type of medieval temple festival with huge political significance, in every 12 years.Thirunavaya Navamukunda Temple (Official Website)
/ref> The Navamukunda Temple is considered one of the 108 original tirupatis (divyadesa) of the

Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

alvars The Alvars ( ta, ஆழ்வார், Āḻvār, translit-std=ISO, lit=The Immersed) were the Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused '' bhakti'' (devotion) to the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, in their songs of longing, ecstasy, an ...

. The pitrkarma/pitrkriyas performed at Tirunavaya, a trimūrti sangama, are considered as very sacred. On Karkitaka vavu (amavasi), Hindus from different part of northern Kerala travel to the temple, to perform the pitrkriya (bali tarpana) seeking moksha for their ancestors. According to media, more than 50,000 devotees performed vavu bali at Navamukunda Temple in 2015. Bali rites are also performed at Tirunavaya on the vavu days of Tulam and Kumbham. Tirunavaya Census Town, geographical area: , has a population of 24,790 (2011). The Muslims compose 77.41% of the total number, while Hindus form of 18.30% of the total population.

Schedule Caste The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

(SC) constitutes 6.17% while Schedule Tribe (ST) were 0.63% of total population in Tirunavaya CT.Census India (2011)
/ref> Yearly average rainfall of the census town is . Maximum temperature here reaches up to and minimum temperature goes down to .

Transportation

* Nearest Airports: Calicut (CCJ) and

Cochin International Airport Cochin International Airport is an International airport serving the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Located at Nedumbassery, about northeast of the city centre, Cochin International Airport is first of its kind which is develo ...

* Nearest Municipality:

Tirur Tirur is a Municipality in Malappuram district in the Indian state of Kerala spread over an area of . It is one of the business centers of Malappuram district and is situated west of Malappuram and south of Kozhikode, on the Shoranur–Manga ...

* Nearest Major Railway Station:

Tirunnavaya railway station Tirunnavaya railway station is the railway station located at Edakkulam- Tirunavaya, Malappuram, Kerala. The station code of Tirunnavaya is TUA (Code:TUA). It comes under the Palakkad Railway Division of the Southern Railway. It is the thir ...

, Kuttippuram 7 km,

11 km

References

{{Malappuram district Villages in Malappuram district Tirur area Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Hindu holy cities Tourist attractions in Malappuram district