The Mithrananthapuram Trimurti Temple is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

complex in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Kerala, India Kerala ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

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

Trimurti The Trimūrti (; Sanskrit: त्रिमूर्ति ', "three forms" or "trinity") are the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified as a triad of de ...

deities, namely, (

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. 21 ...

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" within t ...

and

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

). The Temple is located on the western side of

Padmanabhaswamy temple The Shree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple located in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the state of Kerala, India. The name of the city of 'Thiruvananthapuram' in Tamil and Malayalam translates to "The City of Lord Ananta" (The City ...

Deities

Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma as primary deities of the complex. Brahma is in a sitting posture and Vishnu is in a standing posture. All deities are facing east.

Ganesh Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), 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 Ganapatya sect. His image is ...

and

Nagaraja Nagaraja ( sa, नागराज ', ) is a title used to refer to the nagas, the serpent-like figures that appear in Indian religions. It refers to the kings of the various races of the nāga, the divine or semi-divine, half-human, half-serpen ...

are sub-deities.

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 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: ) 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") (1758–98).Subrahmany ...

. Earlier, the temple was under the control of Ettara Yogam. Now temple administration is vested with the Travancore Devaswom Board. 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. 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 (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

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 (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...

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 film, directed by A. B. Raj and produced by Hassan Rasheed. The film stars Prem Nazir, KPAC Lalitha, Manavalan Joseph and Unnimary in the lead roles. The film has musical score by M. K. Arjunan. T ...

, the birth day of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

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 or Vilwamangalathu Swamiyar is the name of more than one saint who lived in India. The first Vilwamangalam, a Swamiyar belonging to Naduvil Madhom, who lived in the 8th century. The spot of his samadhi is to the west of Sr ...

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

Maha Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu ca ...

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 (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...

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

. Slightly behind the Vishnu temple is the Brahma temple. Temples of Brahma are very rare in India.The Brahma statue is made of stone 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 Appam 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 is common in the cusine of Kerala and Tam ...

. There is a belief that this temple for Brahma was consecrated here to ward off a Yakshi 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 Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...

here, to the

Sun God A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...

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

References

External links