The small, tranquil town of Allapuzha is deeply associated with Lord Krishna and several famous incidents associated with the deity. The Sri Krishna temple also called Ambalappuzha temple is also born out of one such incident. Today, it forms a part of three chief Sri Krishna temples in the state- the other two being Guruvayoor and Trichambaram.
Believed to have been built in 790 AD by Chembakassery Pooradam Thirunal Devanarayan Thampuran, who was the local ruler of that time, the temple is directly associated with Guruvayoor shrine. When Tipu Sultan attempted to took over the region, the Sri Krishna idol was shifter from Guruvayoor to this temple. A sacred pilgrimage destination for hundreds of devotees, the temple is especially decorated and engulfed in ceremonial festivities during the Mithunam month, Moolam Day of Malayalam calendar.
The ‘Payasam’ served in the temple constituting of rice and milk has a very interesting legend associated with it. As the story goes, Lord Krishna appeared in the form of a sage and challenged the king of the region for a game of chess. The condition was that upon winning the game, the King would have to pay one grain of rice which doubles on each square of the chess board. Later, when the King lost the game, he realized that it was impossible to fulfill the condition as miraculously it became trillions of tones of rice to cover the entire squares. Upon seeing the dilemma of the king, Lord Krishna appeared in his divine form and from that day onwards, the quantity is being repaid in the form of ‘Payasam’ to devotees.
The Ambalappuzha Sri Krishna Temple is a must visit for everyone to experience the culture & history of Kerala, and especially to Lord Krishna devotees.
Getting there:
Nearest railway station: Alappuzha, about 26 kms away.
Nearest airport: Cochin International Airport, about 85 kms from Alappuzha.
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