THRIPAYAR SRIRAMA TEMPLE

Thriprayar Temple, located south of Thrissur is one of the important temples dedicated to Lord Rama. The exquisite wood carvings, sculptures and Mural Paintings are an interesting sight. During the Onam festival in the months of August / September, there is a snake boat race.

The Triprayar temple was originally under the domain of the Zamorin rulers of Kerala. It later came under the posession of the Dutch, the Mysore sultans and the rulers of Cochin.

The namaskara mandapam which faces the circular sanctum (srikovil) has 24 panels of wood carvings and several ancient murals. The circular sanctum has several sculptural representations of scenes from the Ramayana.

The image of Rama resembles the chaturbhuja Vishnu form with four arms, bearing a conch, a disc, a bow and a garland respectively. It is believed that the deity worshipped here possesses some of the aspects of Shiva too. The image is adorned with necklaces and othe fine jewelry. Images of Sridevi and Bhudevi are on either side. Rama has been conceived in the form of the victor over the demon Khara.

There is an image of Dakshinamurthy, in the sanctum facing the south. It is also believed that the portrayal of Rama with a garland held in the image's hands is also suggestive of aspects of Bhrahma and hence the deity is said to be a manifestation of the Trimurthis. An unseen manifestation of Hanuman is worshipped in a mandapam across the hall from the sanctum. There is also a shrine to Ganapathi in this temple. In the outer courtyard of the temple is a shrine to Saasta or Ayyappan. It is believed that the Saasta shrine was located originally at the site corresponding to the temples sanctum.

Five worship services are carried out each day - (usha, etirthu, panthirati, uccha, athazha). A processional image of the deity is carried around the temple three times a day.

The seven day Pooram festival is celebrated in the malayala month of Meenam (Tamil - Pankuni), and it concludes in the Pooram asterism (just one day ahead of Pankuni Utthiram in Tamilnadu).

The Ekadashi festival in the month November - December is also a festive occasion, along the lines of the Guruvayur temple. The day preceding Ekadashi witnesses a procession of Saasta, while the Ekadasi festival is marked by a procession of Rama flanked by 21 elephants and royal paraphernalia.

Every day of seven days the procession starts from Triprayar for a certain place where the arattu (bathing ceremony) is hold, giving- opportunity to thousands outside Triprayar to offer Worship to the deity