The Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple is a Hindu temple located near Aranmula, a village in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, South India.
It is dedicated to the God Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, who is worshipped as Parthasarathy (Arjuna’s charioteer). Constructed in the Kerala style of architecture, it is one of the “Divya Desams”, the 108 temples of Vishnu revered by the Alvar saints.
It is one of the most important Krishna temples in Kerala and is one of the five ancient shrines in Kerala, connected with the legend of the Mahabharata, where the five Pandavas are believed to have built one temple each; Aranmula is built by the Pandava prince Arjuna.
The sacred jewels, called Thiruvabharanam of Ayyappan are taken in procession to Sabarimala each year from Pandalam, and Aranmula Temple is one of the stops on the way. Also, the Thanka Anki, golden attire of Ayyappan, donated by the king of Travancore, is stored here and taken to Sabarimala during the Mandala season of late December.
Aranmula is also known for snake boat race held every year during Onam linked to the legends of the Mahabharata. The temple has four towers over its entrances on its outer wall. The Eastern tower is accessed through a flight of 18 steps and the Northern tower entrance flight through 57 steps leads to the Pamba River. The temples has paintings on its walls dating back to early 18th century.
The temple is open from 4 am to 11:00 am and 5 pm to 8 pm and is administered by Travancore Devaswom Board of the Government of Kerala.
The annual Utsavam commences on the Atham Nakshatra in the month of Makara and concludes ten days later on the Thiruvonam day.
Garuda Vahanam Ezhunellippu is the main event during this ten day festival. This event falls on the fifth day of the annual festival and is also called Anchaam Purappadu. The deity is taken out from the sanctum sanctorum mounted on Garuda. It is believed that all 33
million Devas (the elements of nature) and Gandharvas would be present in the temple at that time to witness Lord Krishna riding on his vahana, the Garuda.
The temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava saint, Nammalvar in one hymn. The temple is classified as a Divyadesam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. Thirumangai Alvar have sung in praise of the perumal in this temple with eleven Pasurams, numbered at 2843-53. Thulabaram, the practice of weighing oneself against material and donating it to the temple is practiced here. The Vanni tree in the temple is believed to have medicinal values. The fruits of the Vanni tree are also weighed in Thulabaram and also used for curing diseases of the devotees. It is the place where Brahma is believed to have worshiped Vishnu to retrieve the Vedas from the two demons named Madhu and Kaitibha. The image of Parthasarathy is believed to have been installed by Arjuna himself. The temple is used to store the jewels of the Sabarimala temple.
