page_title: Adikesava Perumal Temple, Kanyakumari
section_title: Architecture and history
hierarchical_section_title: Adikesava Perumal Temple, Kanyakumari / Architecture and history
caption_attribution_description: English: self-made photograph&#160;; Author's Name&#160;: Infocaster
context_page_description: The Adikesavaperumal Temple is a Hindu temple located in Thiruvattar, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India and is one of the 108 Divya desams, the holy sites of Hindu Vaishnavism according to existing Tamil hymns from the seventh and eighth centuries C.E. The temple is one of the historic thirteen Divya Deshams of Malai Nadu. The temple is a picturesque setting surrounded on three sides by rivers namely, It was the Rajya Temple and Bharadevatha shrine of Erstwhile Travancore. After state reorganisation, the temple handed over to Tamilnadu H&RCE Dept. The presiding Vishnu in the form of Ananthapadmabhan/Adikeshavaperumal is believed to be older than Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram. Since Vishnu resides here in a reclining position, and is surrounded by rivers, the temple is called as "The Srirangam of Chera Kingdom".
  The Adikeshava temple is also where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava movement, discovered the lost manuscript of the Brahma Samhita.
context_section_description: The temple architecture is Dravidian style architecture with wooden pillars, doors and roofs. The lord is lying on his snake couch and has to be viewed through three doors. We could see Lord Shiva near Lord Adikesava Perumal inside the sannidhi. Deepalakshmis are many but none resembles the other. The Otraikkal Mandapam (single stone hall) made of a single stone 3 feet thick, is a marvel. Oorthuva Thandavam, Venugopala, Rathi, Manmatha, Lakshmana and Indrajit are excellently carved. The temple is also renowned for its murals.
  The composite columns of Virabhadra holding sword and horn are found be additions of the Vijayanayagara kings during the early 1500s. Similar columns of Virabhadra are found in Meenakshi Temple at Madurai, Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli, Kasi Viswanathar temple at Tenkasi, Krishnapuram Venkatachalapathy temple, Ramanathaswamy Temple at Rameswaram, Soundararajaperumal temple at Thadikombu, Srivilliputhur Andal temple, Srivaikuntanathan Permual temple at Srivaikuntam, Avudayarkovil, Vaishnava Nambi and Thirukurungudivalli Nachiar temple at Thirukkurungudi.
  Going by extant legends, the temple is closely associated with the famous Sree AnanthaPadmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram. Thiruvananthapuram Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple deity lies in the direction as to see the Thiruvattar Adi kesava deity. The main deity was originally covered with gold kavachams in which diamonds and other precious stones were embedded which the Kerala kings had presented to the temple. There is also a small shrine for Lord Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy near the river and opposite to the Adikesavaperumal Temple. Alvar saint Nammalvar had sung 11 pasurams in praise of AdiKesavaSwamy.
caption: An old view of the temple
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