Vamanamoorthy Temples are rare in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

 and other parts of the country. This is a very old temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

: According to the legends, the idol

Cult image

In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents...

 worshiped here is more than 1500 years old. The temple is situated in Perumbillissery, about 10 km from Thrissur

Thrissur

This article is about the city in India. For the district, see Thrissur district. For the urban agglomeration area of Thrissur see Thrissur Metropolitan Area...

 Town by the side of Thrissur-Thriprayar route. This temple is one of the most popular in the "Cultural Capital of Kerala" district.

Story

Mahabali

Mahabali

Mahabali , also known as Bali or Māveli was a benevolent Asura King, and the grandson of Prahlada. The festival of Onam commemorates his yearly homecoming after being sent down to the underworld by Vamana, the fifth avatar of Vishnu.-Conquest of the Universe and banishment:Bali, an asura, was the...

, the king of the Daitya

Daitya

In Hinduism, the Daityas are a clan or race or Asura as are the Danavas. Daityas were the children of Diti and the sage Kashyapa. They were a race of giants who fought against the Devas because they were jealous of their Deva half-brothers...

s or Asuras

Asura (Buddhism)

Asura in Buddhism is the name of the lowest ranks of the deities or demigods of the Kāmadhātu.-Origins and etymology:...

, i.e., demons in the Treta Yuga

Treta Yuga

Treta Yuga is the second out of four yugas, or ages of mankind, in the religion of Hinduism, and follows the Satya Yuga of perfect morality and precedes the Dvapara Yuga. The most famous events in this yuga were Lord Vishnu's fifth, sixth and seventh incarnations as Vamana, Parashurama and...

, reached the zenith of power and fame. He owed his tremendous success and prosperity in life to his observance of an austere and virtuous lifestyle. He performed many ritual sacrifices or Yajna

Yajna

In Hinduism, yajna is a ritual of sacrifice derived from the practice of Vedic times. It is performed to please the gods or to attain certain wishes...

 to consolidate his sway over the three worlds of the universe (Heaven, Earth and Underworld). Lord Vamana

Vamana

Vamana is described in the Puranic texts of Hinduism as the Fifth Avatar of Vishnu, and the first incarnation of the Second Age, or the Treta yuga. Also he is the first Avatar of Vishnu which appears with a completely human form, though it was that of a dwarf brahmin. He is also sometimes known as...

 has blessed king Sri Mahabali on his request for three feet of mud; the mood of the deity in the temple is that of blessing the king Mahabali. Vishnu was immensely pleased with the goodness of Mahabali. He educated Bali about the demerits of pride and arrogance, which forbids man from optimum progress. He allowed Mahabali to take shelter in the Paradise of the sacred abode, where lived the pure Prahlada

Prahlada

Prahlada is a character from the Puranic texts of Hinduism, wherein he is famed for his exclusive devotion to Vishnu, despite attempts in the story by his father, Hiranyakashipu, to turn him to the contrary...

. MahaVishnu further blessed Mahabali, that he would be the ruler of the earth in the following age or Yuga

Yuga

Yuga in Hindu philosophy is the name of an 'epoch' or 'era' within a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and finally the Kali Yuga. According to Hindu cosmology, life in the universe is created, destroyed once every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years, which is...

. Those who sacrifice themselves in the lotus feet of the deity get his blessings.

Ownership

The temple is owned by three uranmakkar: Alakkattu Mana, Pattachomarayath Mana and Akkarachittur Mana. The present administration of the temple is done by Sri. Krishnan Namboodiri, Kizhillath Mana, Perumbillissery on the strength of the authority given by the uranmakkar. The chief priest or Thanthri of the Temple is Nedumpilly Tharananellur Mana, Irinjalakuda. Lord Ganesha, Swamiyar

Vilwamangalam Swamiyar

Vilwamangalam Swamiyar was a Brahmin saint who lived during the middle of 14th century in Kerala. He was such an ardent devotee of Lord Guruvayoorappan that he is said to have the ability to actually see the lord whenever he wanted. Even though he is a Keralite, his fame as a poet had spread...

 (guru) and Lord Annapoorneswari are the other deities.

Visiting

One can get down at Perumbillissery Centre from the bus and walk less than 0.5 km west to reach the temple. Anybody in the centre can guide, as the temple is known to all.

The temple is open from 5.30 AM to 10.30AM and 5.30 PM to 7.30 PM all days. This are subject to change on special days like Thiruvonam

Thiruvonam

Thiruvonam is a Taluk town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Geography:Thiruvonam is located at . It has an average elevation of 36 metres .-Demographics:...

, Prathishta Dinam, Othukottu, lunar and solar eclipse

Solar eclipse

As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...

 days.

Othu Kottu festival

The main festival of the temple is Sampoorna Yajurveda Yajna or Othu Kottu. Yajurveda

Yajurveda

The Yajurveda, a tatpurusha compound of "sacrificial formula', + ) is the third of the four canonical texts of Hinduism, the Vedas. By some, it is estimated to have been composed between 1400 and 1000 BC, the Yajurveda 'Samhita', or 'compilation', contains the liturgy needed to perform the...

 Samhitha recital is one of the special prayers offered in the temple. Othu means Veda and Kottu means recitals. The whole text of Yajurveda is recited once in every three years by Yajurveda scholars from parts of Kerala. The Yajna is conducted by 10 Namboodiri families of the locality with co-operation of devotees.