Vennimala is a small village located in Puthuppally Grama Panchayath of the

Kottayam district Kottayam (), is one of 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. Kottayam district comprises six municipal towns: Kottayam, Changanassery, Pala, Erattupetta, Ettumanoor, and Vaikom. It is the only district in Kerala that neither borders the ...

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 ...

. Vennimala is east of

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

. It lies between the towns of Western Kerala and the mountains of the Western Ghats. Vennimala was once a dense forest. In Hindu mythology, Lord

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

and

Lakshman Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja (). ...

visited this place in

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by '' Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine years ...

and, Lakshman killed many demons (asuras) who threatened and harassed the local sages. Laxman's victory was celebrated in the village's name Vijayadri (successful place in Sanskrit) (Vennimala in Malayalam). There is a temple on the hill built by

Bhaskaravarman Bhaskaravarman () (600–650), the last of the Varman dynasty, was an illustrious king of medieval Kamarupa. After being captured by the Gauda king during the reign of his father, he was able to re-establish the rule of the Varman's. He made ...

. The present building may be of a later date, but the temple is believed to be about 1,000 years old. The main idol is Lakshmana Perumal. The state of Kerala has declared Vennimala in the Sri Rama-Lakshmana Swamy temple as a protected monument. Vennimala is the initial headquarters of the

Thekkumkur The Kingdom of Thekkumkur ( ml, തെക്കുംകൂർ രാജ്യം) (also transliterated as ''Thekkumkoor'' or ''Thekkumcore'') was an independent kingdom in the southern part of Kerala in India from 1103 CE until 1750 CE.P. Shung ...

dynasty

History

Unnuneli Sandesam, famous sandesa kavyam (message poem), in 14th century CE is describes the capital cities of

, Vennimala and

Manikandapuram Manikandapuram ( ml, മണികണ്ഠപുരം) was the capital of the Kingdom of Thekkumkur (now part of India). Manikandapuram is a part of Vakathanam Gramam in the Changanassery Taluk of Kottayam District. At the beginning of the T ...

. The poem also talk about the Thekkumkur king Raja and developments in the country. Humans settled here about 1,000 years ago.

References

{{Kottayam district Kingdom of Thekkumkur Changanassery History of Kottayam district Geography of Kottayam district