Pundareekapuram Mahavishnu Temple is situated atop a small rise called Midayikunnam near Thalayolaparambu in Kottayam district. The
main idol is of an extremely rare captivating form of Lord Mahavishnu. It depicts Lord Vishnu embracing his consort Goddess Bhumidevi in his lap and riding his mount, the Garuda. A mural present here also repeats the theme.
Garuda has wings but no beak and
has fangs bared. According to beliefs it was Lord Vishnu during his Krishna incarnation, with the help of
consort Satyabhama upon his Garuda, had undertaken an expedition to kill the mighty Narakasura. Although the campaign is over after Sathyabhama (incarnation of Bhumi devi) had killed Narakasura, Garuda
is still in a belligerent mood, and is portrayed in the picture.
A tiled, saddle-roofed, square chuttampalam (naalambalam) encloses a square sanctum sanctorum. Appended to the square enclosure is a small balikkalpura. There are books
(especially 'Murals of Kerala' by M.G.Sasibhooshan) which seriously
describe the remarkable Kerala-style paintings (experts date them to
17th-18th centuries) on the walls of the sanctum.
The temple is very famous for its stunning murals and marvelous artworks that speak volumes of Kerala's rich artistic tradition and cultural prominence. There’s an astounding picture of amorous Shiva and Parvathi sitting beneath the Kalpavriksha, a bewitching picture of fiery-eyed Durga (as Mahishasuramarddini) vanquishing the bison-headed demon Mahisha [It is impressive not only by its sheer size (1.45
mts. by 1.65 mts.) but also for the force and fury that it seems to
convey and the story of Mahisha Mardhini can be seen on
the walls of several temples such as Munnoottimangalam
(Alapuzha), Chemanthitta (Thrissur), Aarpookkara (Kottayam), Morazha
(Kannur) and Panayanarkkavu (Pathanamthitta)], the pranks of Krishna at Ambadi where he steals butter, sucking life out of demoness Poothana, filching the garments of the gopis and so on, a blood-rousing picture of a Yakshi (the mythical seductress demon) beneath a palm tree with a mirror in her hand and doing her final make up before luring a man to his doom, Rama Pattabhishekham, the coronation of Sri Rama and Sita amidst Lekshmana, Satrughna, Bharatha, Hanuman, Vibheeshana, parrot-headed Suka and the deer-headed Rishyashringa,
as well as Vasishta, Vamadeva and Kasyapa can be identified among the
rishis. Next is Siva Thandavam, dance of Lord Shiva and an enigmatic picture of Lord Sastha astride a horse on hunting with servants and dogs, Ganapathi's breakfast are a few of the scintillating paintings at Pundareekapuram temple. The last panel of the northern false door has a
charming picture of Krishna playing the flute to an enraptured audience
consisting of gopikas and the frolicking cattle of Vrindavan.
Since the temple had been tucked away in an off-trodden village road, these paintings have for long remained relatively obscure. But these murals, no doubt can hold their own against the better known wall-paintings of Padmanabhapuram and Mattancheri Palaces. In all probability these murals were painted during the later half of the 18 th century. An important characteristic of the Pundareekapuram paintings and Kerala murals in general are the boldness and accuracy of the lines which give a unique force to the paintings.
The temple also enshrines a lot of Naga idols and is also a rareity since usually serpants consider Garuda as their destroyer. The temple is under the ownership of Velimankovil Illam and is managed by Pundareekapuram devaswom.
