Thrikkakara Vamanamoorthy Temple, Ernakulam

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

Thrikkakara Vamanamoorthy Temple is one of the few Hindu temples in India dedicated to Lord Vamana/Vishnu. It is situated in Thrikkakara, Kochi in the state of Kerala, India.

The main temple festival is during the Onam season, which falls on the month of August or September and is the most important event of the religious calendar here. The Onasadya or the Onam feast is held in a grand manner in the temple with people of various religions participating in it.

Thrikkakara Vamanamoorthy Temple festivals

Onam festival

Thrikkakara temple is considered to be a centre of Onam celebrations, as Thrikkakara is considered to have been the abode of the King Mahabali.The celebration of the Onam festival is the main event in the temple. The festival is celebrated over a period of ten days in the Malayalam month of Chingam. The temple houses the main deity Lord Vamana.During the Onam celebration period, a pyramidal statue idolising Maveli and Vamanan is installed as a symbol of honour at all other sites of the celebration, and named Thrikkakara-appan. The temple is the site at which the king Mahabali is said to have been sent to the netherworld Patala by Vamana with his foot, hence marking the genesis of the Onam festival.

Address: 28PH+5QQ, Edappally - Pukkattupady Rd, Vidya Nagar Colony, Thrikkakara, Edappally, Kochi, Kerala 682021

Dress Code

Women should wear a long skirt, dress or long pants. Men should wear business-casual clothing, such as slacks and a button-down shirt. Presenting offerings to the temple deities is a form of respect.

Ochira Kali

  Ochira Kali

By

Nagarajan Subramonian
 

Ochira Kali is a vibrant, traditional martial arts festival celebrated in Kerala, commemorating the historic 1742 battle between the kingdoms of Kayamkulam and Travancore. Held annually on the first two days of the Malayalam month of Midhunam - Aani in Tamil - participants gather at the padanilam (waterlogged battlefield) near the Ochira Parabrahma Temple in the Kollam district to stage a symbolic, energetic mock battle.

Participants—from young boys to older men—dress as warriors and engage in a playful combat using sticks instead of swords, accompanied by the energetic, rhythmic beat of drums.

The mock battle occurs in the waterlogged fields (padanilam) adjacent to the Ochira Parabrahma Temple.

It is a stylized re-enactment of the heroic struggle where the vastly outnumbered forces of Kayamkulam fought against the army of Travancore's Maharaja Marthanda Varma.

The temple itself is remarkably unique. It has no covered structures, idols, or fixed layout, and worshippers focus on the supreme force of Nature or the universal consciousness (Parabrahma).