Payyalore Krishna Swami Temple

Payyalore Gopala Krishna Swami Temple, Kollengode
By
Mrs. Subbalakshmi Subbaraman
General Information
Location-19 Km from Palghat
Deity-Lord Gopalakrishna Swamy
Origin-17th centaury
This temple of Gopalakrishna (the cow herd) is situated in Payyalore
(village of cows) which is showered with natural bounty of the Aanamalai
range of Kerala and is on the way to Kachankurichi temple from
Kollengode., This temple is about 19 km from Palghat. It is situated in the
Agraharam and the worship is done by a Tamil Iyer priest who is a
Vaishnavite.(Azhwar)
The Ithihyam(ancient story) is that a migrant Brahmin had a dream
in which Lord Krishna commanded him to look for an idol lying
immersed in the village tank. The next morning the Brahmin to his
delight got the Idol from the tank. The Brahmin with his other
community members constructed a small shelter for this God-given
idol. There is a story that this temple was constructed by one Sanku
pattar who was the son of Ganga pattar later. It seems that , a
stranger visited Sanku patter and gave him a sealed jar and
requested him to keep it in safe custody for a short period. After a
year of waiting for the stranger, out of simple curiosity Sanku pattar
opened the jar. To his surprise , he found valuable gold coins. He with
his villagers thought that it was a God given gift. Sanku patter in
consultation with the villagers spent the entire gold for the
construction of the Krishna temple. Sanku’s family who are known as
Kolathuran Pattar Family are still contributing liberally for the
maintenance of the temple.
Even today they have special privileges as a mark of respect for the
contribution of their forefathers who constructed the present Sree
Krishna Temple.
The Upadevathas are Maha Ganapathy and Naagar (serpent). There is
also a shrine of Aanjaneyar.
Payyalore village is now a destination to all devotees seeking the
divine grace of the Lord Gopalakrishna Swamy.
Temple timings-The temple is kept open from 5am to 9am and
5pm to 7.30pm
Festivals-Ratholsavam famous festival celebrated in the month of
Jan,Feb
Nerchas-Pazzam,paanakam and payar.