60 attractions in Cherai (back)

Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple
Sree Poornathrayesa temple (in Malayalam:ശ്രീ പൂര്‍ണ്ണത്രയീശ ക്ഷേത്രം) is situated in Tripunithura, Kochi, the capital of the former Kingdom of Cochin. The temple is considered among the greatest temples in Kerala and was first among 8 royal temples of erstwhile Kochi Kingdom. The deity was also considered as National deity of Cochin and protector guardian of Tripunithura.lord poornathrayeesa is considered to be a big fan of elephants and he is known for his elephant love. Hence more than 40 elephants participate in his grant vrishchikotsavam. And most of the elephants are sent for the utsavam without a money return expected by the elephant owners as poornathrayeesa is considered to be elephant lover The temple is famous for its yearly Utsavams or festivals. The main one is the Vrishchikoltsawam, which is conducted every year in the month of Vrishchikam (November–December), kicking off the 'Ulsava' Season in Kerala. And this Vrishchikolsavam is the biggest temple festival in the world followed by the koodalmanikyam ulsavam iringalakkuda ( Thrissur pooram is not an utsavam but it is a pooram so not counted as utsavam ) and one of the biggest major festivals in the world. The deity in this temple is Lord Vishnu who is in the form of Santhanagopala Murthy. It is well believed that childless couples will be blessed with children on praying Poornathrayesan.Offering kanikka(which means money offerd to lord )to poornathrayeesa in the most pure gold pot on thrikketta purappadu day (fourth day of vrishchikotsavam) is the greatest achievement that a devotee can achieve. Visiting poornathrayeesa who is present on top of 15 elephants during the grant procession of vrishchikotsavam is also considered to be an achievement of a devotee. Lord poornathrayeesa is considered to be the greatest lover of elephants and he is fond of elephants.
Guruvayur Temple
Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu god Guruvayurappan (a four-armed affiliation of the Hindus god Vishnu), located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala, India. It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus of Kerala and is often referred to as Bhuloka Vaikunta, which translates to as Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth. The presiding deity of the Guruvayur Temple is Vishnu, worshipped in the form of his avatar Krishna. The central icon is a four-armed standing Vishnu carrying the conch Panchajanya, the discus Sudarshana Chakra, the mace Kaumodaki and a lotus with a Holy basil garland. This image represents the majestic form of Vishnu as revealed to Krishna's parents Vasudeva and Devaki around the time of Krishna's birth; this is the reason why Lord is worshipped in his baby form. Also, the temple is called "Dwarka of South India" due to Krishna's widespread presence. He is currently worshipped according to routines laid down by Adi Shankara and later written formally in the Tantric way, the inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, by Chennas Narayanan Nambudiri (born in 1427). The Chennas Nambudiris are the hereditary tantris (high priest) of the Guruvayur Temple.The temple (puja) routines are strictly followed. The Thanthri is available full-time at the Temple to ensure this. The Melsanthi (Chief Priest) enters the sanctum sanctorum in the morning and does not drink anything up to the completion of "noon worships" at 12:30 PM. The temple is managed by a special Devaswom (Guruvayur Devaswom) under the control of the Government of Kerala. The main festivals of this temple are the 10-day festival in the Malayalam month of Kumbham starting with flag hoisting on Pooyam star, Sri Krishna Janmashtami (Birthday of Lord Krishna) in the month of Chingam, Ekadasi (11th day) in the shukla paksha (bright fortnight) in the month of Vrischikam, popularly called as Guruvayur Ekadasi and Vishu on the first day of the month of Medam, once a harvest festival. The sub-deities of this temple are Ganapathi, Ayyappan and Bhagavathi, and there are two sub-temples each, one for Ganapathi and the other for Nagadevata nearby the temple.