The Mithrananthapuram Trimurti Temple is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

complex in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

, Kerala, India. It is a temple in where devotees get to offer worship to all the three

Trimurti The Trimurti ( /t̪ɾimʊɾt̪iː/) is the triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities. Typically, the designations are that ...

deities, namely, (

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

and

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

). The Temple is located on the western side of Padmanabhaswamy temple in

History

No authentic records are there to know the origin and antiquity of the temple. Previously this temple was a subsidiary unit of Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The administrators of

Travancore kingdom The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananth ...

used to worship in the temple before they took any important decisions pertaining to Ananthashayanam. According to Syanandura Purana, the temple was constructed in its present form in the year 1168 A.D. Historical records show that the temple was renovated in the year 1196 A.D. and some land was submitted to the deities in 1344 AD. The temple was again renovated in the year 1748 by Maharaja

Marthanda Varma Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ; 1706 – 7 July 1758) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") ...

. Earlier, the temple was under the control of

Ettara Yogam The ''Ettara Yogam'' or, the King and Council of Eight and a Half, has been the administrative setup of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, for centuries. Origin According to historians, a six-member Sabha was cons ...

. Now temple administration is vested with the

Travancore Devaswom Board Travancore Devaswom Board is statutory and autonomous body managing around 1252 temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the ...

. From the very beginning, the administration of this temple was jointly supervised by the Travancore kings.

Temple complex

Mithrananthapuram temple complex is near the Padmanabha Swamy temple, Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala. Inside this compound there are temples dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. All deities are facing east. Though initially these were under the control of Padmanabha Swamy Temple, later temple complex became independent. The priests of Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple stay in Mithrananda Puram. The

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

pundits who assemble in Thiruvananthapuram once in 12 years for 'Murajapam'(a customary continuous chanting of vedic mantras), stay in this compound. The path inside the complex leads to the three temples. First there is a Vishnu temple with a

Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

statue just outside. The idol is in a standing posture and carries Conch, wheel, mace and lotus flower in his four hands.

Ashtami Rohini ''Ashtamirohini'' is a 1975 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by A. B. Raj. The film stars Prem Nazir, KPAC Lalitha, Manavalan Joseph and Unnimary in the lead roles. It is a remake of the Tamil film '' Petralthan Pillaiya''. Cast *P ...

, the birth day of

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

is celebrated here. In front of the main granite idol is a small metallic one, which is believed to be the idol which was worshiped by Sage

Vilwamangalam Swamiyar Vilwamangalam Swamiyar was a saint that lived in India. Swamiyar was renowned all over India. Bengalis believe that he was born in Bengal while Odias believe in Odisha, though tradition in Kerala implies that he belonged to Panniyoor village. ...

. Next to the Vishnu temple is the temple for Shiva. In the south western corner of this temple there is a

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

temple also.

Maha Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...

is celebrated as the main festival in this temple. Vasordhara Homam the most sacred sacrifice to fire, scarifying dhara for the welfare of this entire society under the guidance of

Brahmins Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

.This sacred sacrifice is done during Shivaratri festival. Next to the Shiva temple is a temple for

Nagaraja A Nagaraja ( ', ) is a king of the various races of the nāga, the divine or semi-divine, half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld ( Patala), and can occasionally take human form. Rituals devoted to these supernatural being ...

. Slightly behind the Vishnu temple is the Brahma temple. Temples of Brahma are very rare in India. The Brahma statue is made of stone, in sitting posture and has only one head instead of the four. Inside the Brahma temple, there is a small Ganesha temple along with his wives. The main form of worship in this Ganesha temple is to cover the idol with

Appam An appam or vellayappam is a type of thin pancake originating from South India. It is made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk, traditionally cooked in an ''appachatti'', a deep pan similar in shape to a wok. It's a popular dish in Indi ...

. There is a belief that this temple for Brahma was consecrated here to ward off a

Yakshi Yakshinis or Yakshis (, , Prakrit: ) are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from Devas and Asuras and Gandharvas or Apsaras. Yakshinis and their male counterparts, the Yaks ...

who was troubling everybody. Though in the initial days, women were not allowed in this temple, but now with some restrictions, they are allowed. The Mithrananthapuram temple complex includes the Mithrananthapuram tank, in which the priests of Padmanabhaswamy Temple are expected to bath each day before entering the temple.

Legend

Legend says that Villwamangalath Swamiyar consecrated the idols of the temple. It is also believed that the Trimurtis conducted a great fire

yajna In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐd͡ʒɲə ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedas, Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature ...

here, to the Sun God, Mithra, thus the complex is known as Mithrananthapuram, 'the town which gave happiness to the Sun'.

References

External links

Temples of Trivandrum KerlaWindow.com

Pilgrim Centers in Thiruvananthapuram Kerala.me
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History

Temple complex

Legend

See also

References

External links