| Temples & Legends Of Kerala |
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| Temples & Legends Of
India |
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THE TEMPLES OF PADMANABHA |
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In the
Skandapurana, Setu Mahatmya, Brahmakhanda Chap. .52, verses 102 to 105, some of the most
important places of pilgrimages are indicated, which includes Padmanabha. These sacred
places are Kumbakonam, Ramashwaram, Gokarna (48 km. south of Goa), Naimisha (Nimsar, 72
km. from Lucknow), Ayodhya, Dandaka forest (starting from Bhopal and extending upto the
river Godavari), Virupaksha (at Hampi), Venkata (Tirupati), Saligram (at the source of
river Gandaka), Prayaga, Kanchi, Dwarka, Mathura (both Mathura in the North and Madurai in
the South), Padmanabha (Anantasayanam at Trivandrum), Kasi, the abode of Lord Visweshwara,
rivers, oceans and Bhaskara kshetra i.e. Konarak.4
There is also mention in the Bhagavata purana (canto 10 chapter 79) that Balarama visited
"Syanandoorapuram" in the course of his pilgrimage and the belief is that this
refers to the shrine of Anantasayanam at Trivandrum. Similarly in the Brahmanda purana
also there is reference to "Syanandoorapura." The compositions of Nammalwar, the
great Vaishnavite saint, in praise of Mahavishnu, also prove beyond doubt that this temple
existed in the fifth century of this era.
4 Immortal India III by J. H. Dave, Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan. |
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