Koodalmanikyam Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery is the nearest airport, 38 km from the town.

• By train

  Irinjalakuda railway station is about 8 km east of the town, at Kallettumkara. Thrissur is the nearest major railhead, 22 km away.

• By road

  A KSRTC bus station stands behind the temple. Irinjalakuda is on State Highway 22, about 9 km from NH 66 and 16 km from NH 544.

Rules to know

• Usha Puja and Pantheeradi Puja are not performed at this shrine.
• There is no deepa-aradhana at the temple.
• The deity is taken out in procession only during the annual festival.

Why devotees come here

Koodalmanikyam Temple stands in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur district, Kerala. It is dedicated to Bharata, the Ramayana brother, though the idol inside is of Vishnu. It is one of four Kerala temples in the Nalambalam set.

Koodalmanikyam is one of four temples in Kerala that make up the Nalambalam set. Each one is dedicated to a brother from the Ramayana: Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana or Shatrughna. This temple honours Bharata, but the idol inside is of Vishnu. Another name for the deity is Sangameshwara, which means the one at the confluence.

Devotees believe the pond Kulipini Theertham was made holy by the sage Kulipini, who held a great ritual sacrifice there. Legend also credits Vakkayil Kaimal, a minister of the Ayirur Kovilakam, with installing the idols of the Ramayana heroes at these shrines.

The earliest historical reference is a stone inscription dated 854/55 AD, attributed to the Chera Perumal king Sthanu Ravi Kualsekhara. It records land leased to the temple. Until 1971, most land in and around Irinjalakuda belonged to the temple and the Thachudaya Kaimals of Travancore. The main structure stands in a walled compound with citadels, and four ponds surround it, one of them within the walls.

Festivals

• Medam (April/May)Medam festival

  The chief annual festival lasts ten days. Each day a seeveli procession of caparisoned elephants, seventeen in all, goes out twice, in the morning and at night, to the sound of panchari melam.

• Karkkidakam, July 17 to August 16Nalambala darsanam

  An annual pilgrimage to four well-known temples in central Kerala, this temple among them.

Tips for your visit

• Pilgrims on the Nalambalam circuit pray at Thriprayar, Moozhikkulam and Payammal on the same day as this temple.
• If you want to see the elephant procession, plan your visit for the Medam festival in April or May.

Questions people ask