Anupama Nair
This year the Ramayana Masa started on 17th July 2021 and is the start of a holy month in Kerala when people read the Malayalam version of Ramayana called “Adyatma Ramayana” written by Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan. Ramayana Masam is celebrated in the Malayalam month of Karkidakam (July—August) and you have to read the entire book in a month. You can rightly say, it is the start of Hindu festivities in Kerala. During this holy month, there are many temples of Lord Rama that you can visit, which will increase the blessings of the Lord.
Lord Rama Chandra is the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Rama is one of the most popular deities in India. He is considered as the perfect man in the world and hence called ‘Maryadha Purushotham’. Ramayana is the story of Rama from his birth. Devi Sita, is the wife of Lord Rama and is represented as a concrete example of perfect woman. King of Ayodhya, Dasarath had three wives Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra and four sons – Lord Rama, Bharat, Shatrugnan and Lakshman. To fulfill his father’s vow to Kaikeyi, he went on a “vanvasa” or live in a forest for 14 years.
His wife Sita and brother Lakshman accompanied him to the forest. Sita was kidnapped by Ravana, the king of Lanka. Then Rama made an army with the help of Hanuman and the monkey king Sugriva and waged a war with the Lankans. They killed Ravana and demolished his kingdom. Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana was crowned the king of Lanka. After 14 years, Rama came back to Ayodhya and became the king. Even though he is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, he lived as a human, with all qualities of an ideal man. He thus showed others, how to live like an ideal man.
In the previous article, I has spoken about pilgrims visiting “Nalambalam” dedicated to the Lord and his brothers. ‘Nalu’ means four and ‘Ambalam’ means temple in Malayalam. There are around five sets of Nalambalams in Kerala, the most famous among them being the four temples located in Trichur and Ernakulam districts – Thriprayar Sree Rama Temple, Koodamanikyam Bharat Temple, Moozhikkulam Lakshman Temple and Payyammal Shatrugnan Temple. ‘Nalambalam Yatra’ begins from the Rama temple in Thriprayar and ends in Shatrugnan Temple in Payyammal. According to the tradition, we need to visit the four temples in order Lord Rama, Bharat, Shatrugnan and Lakshman, respectively. If you have time to visit these temples on a single day, during the holy month of Karkkidakam the Lord will shower blessings and ensure prosperity.
Ramapuram in Kottayam district, Kerala is another place where temples of all four brothers are situated. The four temples of central Kerala, thronged by Hindu devotees during the holy month of Karkitakam are centered around Ramapuram, within a distance of three kilometers. They are Ramapuram Sree Ramaswamy Temple, Koodappulam Sree Lakshmanaswamy Temple, Amanakara Sree Bharathaswamy Temple and Methiri Sree Sathrughnaswamy Temple. These temples together are called the Nalambalam.
A truly exclusive and one of the oldest sacred temples of Kerala – Vilwadrinath is located in Thiruvilamala on the banks of river Bharathappuzha or ‘River of Bharata’. Vilwadrinath is one of the four rare temples, in Kerala, dedicated to Lord Rama and also the rarest in India for having a shrine for his brother Lakshman. This one ranks above all others as the murti here is believed to be ‘swayambhu’ or ‘Self-manifested’.
Once Corona is over or less, make it a part of your next trip.
Jai shree ram
Very informative. I had no idea about this.
Great article. Jai shree ram from UAE.
Please publish more articles
All religious places in India are great
Jai Sree Ram
I ve heard of this temples when I visited Kerala
Great aricle
Great aricle
Great aricle
Informative article ????????
Great info
Jai shree ram
Jai Shree Ram
So many temples in UK.
Must visit Kerala next
Must visit these temples.
Nice article.
Must visit them
Must visit them
Should visit these temples.
Great temples of India.
Great temples of India.
Should go for a plilgrimage.
Should go for a plilgrimage.
Should go for a plilgrimage.
I’ ve visited these places.
Nice article.
Nice article.
Want to see all great temples of India.
Want to see all great temples of India.
Nice info
Nice info
Jai Shree Ram
Jai Shree Ram
Jai Shree Ram
Nice article.
Nice article.
Nice articles
Nice articles
Loved it