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Thiruvalla Sreevallabha Temple History, Timings, and Darshan
Vallaba kshetra is the name that is commonly used to refer to this divya desa. The distance between this temple and the Tiruvalla railway station, which is located on the Kollam-Ernakulam train route, is around three miles. The moolavar is also referred to as Tiruvazhmarban and Sri Vallabha, in addition to the name Kolapiran. It is observed that he is standing with his back to the east. In addition to being known as Vatsalya devi, the consort is also known as Selva Thirukozhundhu Nachiyar. Darshal was bestowed upon Gantakarna by God. Along with the Pampa river, this particular theertha is also referred to as the Gantakarna theertha. One of the names for this vimana is the Saturanga kola vimana.
Thiruvalla, Chengannoor, and Aranmula were the three most significant locations in the region, which included the middle of Travancore. It is commonly thought that the location was given the name Thiruvalla in order to pay homage to Sri Vallabha, who is the god who preside over the Vishnu temple that is located in the vicinity. In the past, this town was a significant educational hub. Once upon a time, it was a powerful pole of the nambudiris, who came from the priestly class in Kerala. A significant amount of information pertaining to the history of this town can be found on the copper plates of Tiruvalla.
It would appear that in the early days, Thiruvalla was connected to a number of upagramas, which are subordinate settlements. Another one of the upagramas was Thirupparappuram, which is located in the Kanyakumari district of the present-day state of Tamil Nadu. Vellappalli, which is located in the north, was an upagrama that was under the jurisdiction of Thiruvalla. In addition, Dandin, a renowned Sanskrit poet who resided in Kanchipuram during the seventh century A.D., has expressed his admiration for the vaishna brahmins of Thiruvalla. This only indicates that the culture of Thiruvalla was already well-known far before the seventh century A.D. As far as historians are concerned, the brahmins settled in Kerala in a total of sixty-four villages, and Thiruvalla is one of those sixty-four villages. During the Chera dynasty, Thiruvalla flourished as a popular destination.
Thiruvalla Sreevallabha Temple History
It was in this location that God bestowed moksha upon Gantakarna and granted him darshan. He was a devout follower of the Saiva religion.It was after he had performed a great penance to Siva that he requested that He grant him moksha. After that, Lord Siva gave him the advice to pray to Lord Vishnu, who was the god who was responsible for bestowing forgiveness and salvation. Consequently, Gantakarna performed an equally severe act of penance before Lord Vishnu. This individual is claimed to have been given the name Gantakarna due to the fact that he used to wear two little bells with his ears. It was his objective to continue shaking his head in such a way that the bells would continue to ring in his ears over and over again, and he would not hear anything other than what he desired to hear. In essence, he desired to prevent any other name besides Narayana from entering his consciousness through the ear. In order to accomplish this, he would shake his head repeatedly, even while he was repeating the word Narayana. This was done to ensure that the exchange of sounds would never provide him with a distraction.Because of Gantakarna’s genuine prayers, it is said that Lord Vishnu made an appearance at this location and rewarded him for his efforts.
A lady by the name of Sankara Mangalathamma is said to have exhibited devotion to this location, according to another tradition that is associated with this location. This woman did not have any children of her own. Someone told her that earlier, Athithi had taken the Ekadasi vratha very seriously and then performed Parana on Dwadasi day (which means feeding a brahmachari on the next day). As a result, she was graced with the opportunity to give birth to the Lord Himself, who was born to Athithi in the shape of Vamana. In light of this, Sankaramangala ammai also began to take this Ekadasi vratha very seriously. She would first give her prayers on the day of Dwadasi, and then she would wait to eat until after she had fed a brahmachari. Tolakasuran, an asura, arrived at this location after a considerable amount of time had passed. The people who lived in the area were terrified of him. In the past, he was a source of frustration for the sadhus. As a result, the majority of them fled the location. Sankaramangalla amma, on the other hand, continued to reside in the same location and performed the Ekadasi vratha with a great deal of difficulty. This was due to the fact that on each particular occasion, it became increasingly difficult to locate a brahmachari to feed on a dwadasi day.
Tolakasuran was also aware of the affection that this lady possessed. He was determined to shatter her spirit in any way possible. On the day of Dwadasi, the lady had absolutely no one to come and eat with her. She had no one to consume her food. As a result, she prayed to Sriman Narayana and asked Him to find a solution to the situation that she was experiencing. After then, Lord Vallabha assumed the shape of a brahmachari and made his way to the residence of Sankaramangala Amma.
The brahmachari informed her that he had observed a fast the day before, which was Ekadasi, and that he had heard about the parana that the devoted woman had offered. He had come to take part in the meal that was being offered. He stated that he would go to the tank and then return after completing his ritual wash. When Tolakasuran came across the brahmachari as he was making his way to the river, a fierce battle broke out between the two of them. In the end, the brahmachari was able to let go of his disc, which was his Sudarsana weapon, and the asura was eliminated. Following the completion of its mission, the disk landed on the landscape. There was a spring that appeared. The disc was able to free itself of the blood of the asura and return to its permanent resting place, which was the hand of Lord Narayana. At the lady’s residence, the brahmachari was able to consume his meal. While this was going on, the lady learned that the asura had been put to death. There were times when she questioned whether or not this brahmachary child was truly divine. She became aware of the fact that the brahmachari had concealed his chest by covering it with the Krishnajan to conceal it. She became aware that it was a Bhagavatha leela by that point. She made a plea to the brahmachari, asking him to permit her to have a glimpse of Himself with His consort seated on His breast. It is stated that God gave her what she wanted. Because of this, the Lord in this place is referred to as Thiruvazhmarban, which literally translates to “a Lord on whose chest rests Thiru,” which is Mahalakshmi. The lady devotee’s prayer was a direct result of the Lord continuing to live in this kshetra. The Lord gave her the assurance that whoever took a bath in the Chakra theertha, which is the spring that the disc had produced for the purpose of purifying itself after it had killed the asura, would be able to get rid of all of their troubles and their aspirations would be accomplished. In addition, the Lord bestowed blessings and gave assurances that people who worship Him at the Vallabha kshetra will be blessed with the same kind of merit as those who have observed the Ekadasi vratha and then conducted the Dwadasi paarayana for a longer period of time.
There is still another tale associated with this location that states that the installation of this idol was attributed to the rishi Durvasa. Even in modern times, it is thought that Durvasa rishi still visits this location and worships the Lord at the middle of the night. In the middle of the night, there are some devotees who are under the impression that they hear the sound of the conch as well as other sounds that are associated with the offering of prayers, such as the tinkling of the bells and other similar sounds.
When viewed from a distance, the idol of Sri Vallabha is absolutely stunning. It was a long time ago when women were not permitted to be in close proximity to the sanctum sanctorum.
It is believed that the idol of Sri Vallabha was so stunningly gorgeous that one day, a lady devotee discovered that the Lord, who was dressed in all of His grandeur, was so irresistibly fascinating that she entered the sanctum sanctorum.
According to the legend, women were not permitted to visit the Nalambalam in order to avert a situation like the one described above, in which the lady devotees became enamored with the idol’s breathtaking beauty. There were two instances in which this tabu did not apply, even during those days. The first one occurred on the day of Thiruvathira in the month of Dhanur, which is the end of December, and the second one occurred on the day of Vishu in the month of Chitirai, which is April. On both of those occasions, the Lord would be dressed as a hunter, and it is likely that many had the impression that He did not appear to be as attractive and engaging when he was clothed in such attire. In spite of this, the tabu was lifted in the month of August in the year 1967. At this time, the sanctum is open to both males and females without restriction.