Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple is the only big temple in South India, situated at Tripoonithura, a heritage town in Kochi, where you can see Lord Vishnu, sitting under the five royal hoods of the divine serpent, Sri Anantha, whose folded body itself acts as the throne for the God. Devotees worship Lord Vishnu here as 'Santhana Gopala Moorthi'(Savior of infants).
Legends say that this exquisite idol of 'Sree Poornathrayeesan' was gifted to Arjuna by Lord Vishnu, while the former, along with Lord Krishna, sought the help of Lord Vishnu at Vaikunta, to grant rebirth for the ten children of a Brahmin (believed to be of Puliyannur Illom, ancestral home of the chief priest of the temple). Arjuna and Lord Krishna along with the ten children and the holy idol, returned in his chariot and handed over the children to the poor Brahmin. It is believed that Lord Krishna and Arjuna(Naranarayanas) together consecrated the idol of Poornatrayeesan and this again exhilarates the divinity of the temple.
Later a temple was built here in memory of this event and the Sanctum sanctorum of this temple is in the form of a chariot. Arjuna sent Lord Ganapathy to search for a holy place for the installation of the idol of Lord Vishnu. First they kept the idol in a palace, half a kilometer west of the main temple and now it is popularly known as 'Poonithura Kottaram'.
Attracted by the holiness of the ancient Vedic Village, Poornavedapuram(now Tripunithura), Lord Ganapathy himself occupied the place. Arjuna became furious and transferred Lord Ganapathy aside to the southern side of the sanctum and installed the idol in that holy place surrounded by mustard fields. He then plucked some mustard seeds and crushed them to get oil for lighting lamp in front of the idol. Devotees consider the evershining 'Valia Vilakku' situated in front of the idol, as the
oil-lamp which was lighted by Arjuna. Burnt oil of this traditional lamp possesses great medicinal value.
Stories relating Sree Poornathrayeesa as the elder brother of the Goddesses of Chottanikkara and Pishari kovil temples, are also popular among the people. Lord Poornathrayeesa is also believed to be wedded to a Namboothiri girl,'Nangema', from Vadakkedathu Mana. Dieties from local temples like Perumthrikovil(Lord Shiva) and Pishari kovil(Lakshmi) will come here during their annual festive occasions to participate in a combined procession, locally termed as 'Sankara Narayana Vilakku and Laksmi Narayana Vilakku respectively. Aarattu after the annual festival of Sree Poornathrayeesa takes place at the temple pond of Chakkamkulangara Shiva Temple, nearly half a kilometer North-East to Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple.
The entire structure of the temple except the West Gopuram was redesigned in the year 1921 by the great architect Late Sri Eachara Warrier. Before that the temple structure was with a tiled roof and a wooden ceiling. The East gopuram was also smaller than the present structure.
In 1920, the entire structure other than the west gopuram was destroyed in an accidental fire. Fortunately the devotees could save the main idol from fire by covering it with a huge vessel coated with clay.The other idols were shifted to Puthen Bunglow (Family temple of the Cochin Royal Family) and the King of Cochin state ordered to reconstruct the temple structure by completely avoiding the accident-prone wood works. In accordance with the King's order Eachara Warrier skillfully blended the traditional architecture with the modern means of construction like concrete and reconstructed the temple with fire-proof materials like Copper, Concrete, Granite and Bronze.
The West gopuram which could survive the devastating fire of 1920 is believed to be built by some divine powers and the age of this structure, still remains a mystery. Here the divine sculptures in their crude form bear a unique beauty.The first floor of this two storied gopuram consists of a dias, supported by eight beautifully carved wooden pillars.
One can enjoy all the three types of traditional festivals 'Ankuraadi'(with full fledged rituals and other colourful cultural programmes), 'Padahaadi' (only the peripheral colourful programmmes without any traditional rituals) and 'Dwajhadi' (strictly meant for traditional rituals).
Every malayalam year begins here with an eight day long festival which is dedicated to the sculptor who had moulded the divine image of Sree Poornatrayeesan. During that divine creation it is believed that the gifted sculptor merged himself with the almighty, while giving life to that beautiful idol. So the eyes of the image was left unveiled. This festival is popularly known as Moosari Utsavam which comes in every year during the months August-September. The festival Ombathanthi Utsavam(9th day of Thulam in Malayalam Calender) is celebrated in this temple to mark the return of the idol from Puthen Bunglow after the fire.
The annual festival Vrischikotsavam in November-December, is conducted as a cultural and religious festival by all the people in Tripunithura. This is a colourful festival with lots of enthusiasm involved.
During the malayalam month Kumbham (February-March) the residents of Tripunithura and its surroundings receieve their Lord colourfully with myriad offerings and this eight day long festival is locally termed as Para Utsavam. The birthday of Sree Poornathrayeesa also comes in this month and the celebrations are popular here as Uthram Vilakku. The most ecstatic moment in connection with this festival is the Lakshmi Narayana vilakku, which takes place in an enthralling background enriched by the natural beauty of the full moon night and the glowing country torches.
Vrischikotsavam
The eight day long annual festival of Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple deserves special mention. Come to this festive site and it is a venue for the performance of temple arts like Melam, Panchavadyam, Thayambaka, Madhalapattu, Kombupattu, Kuzhalpattu (all are rhythm concerts peculiar to Kerala). The Royal procession of the deity is the most fascinating event of this festival. Fifteen fully caparisoned tuskers will accompany the deity in this procession.
One can enjoy the melodious Pancharimelam with all its perfection at the precincts of Sree Poornathrayeesan and will last for about 4 hours. Here the Pancharimelam is followed by Adanthamelam and conclude with the third and fourth division of the Chembadamelam, which is famous here as Nadappuramelam. The accoustic structure of Nadappura is well suited for the resonance produced by Elathalam(cymbals) in the Chembadamelam. This rare blend of colourful visual procession and melodious rhythms is the peculiarity of this festival and will repeatedly be presented in seven sunny days and ecstatic nights. Fourth day of this festival bears another importance as Thriketta Purappadu.
According to the anecdotes, the great Vilwamangalam Swamiyar visited the temple and found the divine presence in the procession and not at the Sanctum sanctorum. From this day onwards devotees donate money to the God considering the direct presence of Poornathrayeesa in the procession and more time is alloted for night procession of the deity.
Kathakali, the classical dance form of Kerala also bears an equal importance as that of Melam. Early 40s and 50s witnessed more than twelve stages on the same day and great maestros like Vazhengada Kunju Nair, Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair etc participated in the Kaliyogam.
Carnatic Musicians like Madurai Mani Iyer, GN Balasubramanyam, Aalathur Brothers, Shenmangudi Sreenivasa Iyer, TH Govinda Rao, TN Krishnan, MS Gopalakrishnan, TV Gopalakrishnan have presented their songs at the feet of Lord Poornathrayeesa. Round the clock programmes of vrischikotsavam also includes folk art forms like Kurathiyattom, Ottamthullal, Sheethankan Thullal, Patakom and Sandhya kali are performed by leading artists.
