Thrippunithura
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thrippunithura is a satellite town south-east of Kochi in Kerala, a state in South India. Earlier, it was the headquarters of Cochin Royal Family. The Hill Palace Museum is situated near Thrippunithura.
Thrippunithura is also known as the land of temples. The famous Sree Poornathrayesa temple is one of them. The town is also a center of learning for classical arts like Carnatic Music, dance and percussion instruments like Mridangam and Chenda. One of the three Ayurveda colleges in Kerala is located in the town.
Sree Poornathrayeesa, the deity of Poornathrayeesa temple, is in the form of "Santhana Gopala Moorthy" as told in the Bhagavatha. It is believed those worship him truly, will be blessed with children.
There are many stories that describe the origin of the word Thrippunithura. According to one the name means "the land on the shores of Poorna river". Another meaning is "Poorna Veda Puri" - the town of Vedas in its entirety.
There is a story of Arjuna - one of Pandavas - who once visited Lord Vishnu. The Lord gave him an idol and Arjuna carried it in his "pooni" (quiver). While searching for a place to install it, he met Lord Ganapati and sought help. Ganapati found this place and installed himself facing east. When Arjuna found this out, he kicked Ganapati and turned him towards south. Arjuna placed the idol facing east and worshipped there.
It is also believed that the temple Thantri's family, (belonging to puliyannoor mana) is the next generations of the Brahmana of the Santhana Gopalam story.
There are many other temples in and around Thrippunithura. One of the famous temples in the vicinity is Thamaramkulangara Sree Dharma Sastha temple, where the deity is Dharmasastha, in the form of Lord Dhanwanthari Moorthy.
One of the famous ceremonies "Atha Chamayam" takes place in this town during Onam festival.
