Vareala - Jamardhaaaswamy Ambalam 

The fantastic legend of its origin takes us back to Kritayuga and the characters involved for the emergence of this regularly visited Vaishnava kshetra are no mortals - they are the Creator Brahma, the Protector Mahavishnu, the Trilokasanchari Narada and a few unfortunate Satyalokavasis. The legends begins with Narada's entry into Brahma's chamber and ends with the building of a grand independent big shrine for Janardhanaswarny, who emancipated the deserving divinities. First let us understand the significance of the name.

Varkala is the corrupt form of valkala - a word for garment in Sanskrit. A temple dedicated to Sri Janardhana swamy came up at a place, where Narada's valkala - upper cloth fell. Seems odd, isn't it? But true, a hundred percent.

According to legend, once Brahma managed to steal a few seconds from his arduous work and slipped into the lap of Morpheus - the Goddess of sleep, during office hours. It so chanced Narada - the Kalahabhojana entered then singing in praise of Mahavishnu in such an ecstatic joy that he not only became oblivious of the environs, but made the listeners too share his state. Awakened by his melodious tune, the napping Brahma fell prostrate before him forgetting the decorum, decency etc. In the open assembly at it. The gods assembled there burst into laughter that alone brought Brahma to the world real. Feeling humiliated, he cursed them to go to Bhuloka to purify themselves by penance. They regretted. Narada advised the disconsolate to do penance at a place, where his varkala fell for reinstatement. They descended to the present Varkala, where his garment fell anal did penance. During then Brahma came to this spot to conduct a yagna. Lord Janardhana, who visited to attend it, blessed the gods doing penance. In token of redemption, the gods built a temple and installed Janardhana's icon. The Lord brought holy Ganga here with his sudarsan disc and now called Chakra thirtha: The temple and its thirtha won fame on account of many miracles - curing of diseases and solving of problems of the true bhaktas. It is a modest sized temple containing at the essential parts and built on a high mound resembling a hillock.

It lies at about 2 km west of Varkala railway station on the Trivandrum-Quilon line in Kerala state.

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