THE TEMPLE OF SRI PADMANABHA

The darshan of the deity is through three doors in row-the face on the southern side, the sacred feet on the northern side and the nabhi (navel) in the middle from which appears Brahma. It is the majestic Narayana whom Bhagavata describes as being absorbed in the yoganidra, reclining on the great serpent Adisesha, and one who creates all the three worlds.

The ottakkal (single-stone slab) mandapam in front of the idol was rebuilt with a single slab of granite, two and half feet thick and twenty feet square. The eastern gopuram, for which the foundation had been laid in 1566, was also rebuilt upto the fifth story. (The work was completed and Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma raised it to its present height and form much later, some time between 1758 and 1798 when the state was ruled.)

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About Sri Padmanabha