Tiruvanantapuram

History:

According to legend, there was once a Nambudhri Priest by the name of Bilwa Mangala Samiyar who used to perform Tiruvaradhanam daily to many Shalagramams. It is said that there was a young boy who accompanied the priest daily during his kanikaryams. The boy was very naughty, but had told the priest not to question anything that he would do. One day, the boy stole some of the Shalagramams from the priest and started to run. The priest pursued the boy. As the chase continued, the boy ran into a dense forest known as Ananthavanam.

As the priest ran after the boy, a humungous illupa-maram (Indian Butter Tree) fell in front of him. The height of the tree can be comprehended as follows. It is said that the Lord's tirumukham rested in Tiruvattar, His nabhi rested in Thiruvananthapuram, and his tiruvadi rested in a place known as Tirupaapur.

Similarly, another story states that Diwakara Maharshi chased a boy into the Ananthavanam, and the tree fell; as a result, the Lord appeared in the tree. It is said that Diwakara Maharshi was holding a tridandam, and he asked the Lord to reduce his length to match the tridandam. Thus, the Lord shrank Himself to a length of 18 feet. As the Lord shrank Himself from a humungous length to a more viewable length, He got the name Ananthapadhmanabhan.

Anantha, which means immeasurable, and Padmanābhan, as Lord Brahmā emanates from the divine lotus in His navel. Thus, a temple was constructed, and the Lord was present in a wooden form for many years. Even today, one can get a sight of Bilwa Mangala Samiyar as well as Diwakara Maharshi inside the garbha-griha.

Modern Day:

In 1686, a massive fire reportedly broke out in the temple. The then king Marthanda Varman is said to have reconstructed the temple over the course of forty years and performed the samprokshanam for the temple in 1726. It is said that the Lord appeared in the king's dream and told him that He wished to be converted into a shila-vigraham form. It is said that elephants carried 2400 shalagramams on their heads from Nepal and delivered them to the king.

The Lord further instructed the king to use 1200 shalagramams to constitute Him in the shila-vigraham form. The remaining shalagramams were to be stored safely till they would be necessary to reconstruct the Lord once more. To this day, that requirement has not arisen. In the year 1750, Marthanda Varman is said to have written down all his wealth in the name of the Lord and the temple and given his family the title of Padmanābha-Dasan, which translates to those who serve Lord Padmanābha.

To this day, the Kings of the Travancore family visit the temple in the early hours of the morning and pay their respects to the Lord. Due to being unable to visit the temple on any given day, they pay a fine to the temple. There are two annual festivals during the Tamil months of Pankuni and Aippasi.

The significance of the three doors for viewing the Lord:

Given the length of the Lord being eighteen feet, there are three doors through which one can view the Lord. In the first door, one can see the Lord's tirumukham. This door is said to have been meant for the Nityasooris, such as Garuḍan and Vishvaksenar. In the second door, one can see the Lord's naabhi (navel) from which emanates the divine lotus, inside which is seated Lord Brahmā. This door is said to have been meant for the Devas. In the third door, one can see the Lord's tiruvadi (His holy lotus-feet).

This door is said to be meant for all His devotees who seek his refuge as instructed by Him in the Gita, where Lord Krishna says, "Sarva Dharman Parityajya maam ekam sharanam vraja."

Nam Āzhwār: 11 Pāsurams