Thiruvattaru.

The sanctum was yet to open for the evening pooja.So after the steep climb to the temple over narrow and high steps carved out stone , i had plenty of time to look around and meditate in the quiet and spacious environment.

This temple dedicated to AdiKesava perumal and praised by Namaazhwar , is a mirror image of Sri Ananthpadmanabha koil at Thiruvananthpuram without the security forces.Long corridors with sculptures of maiden holding lamps ,wind around the sanctum.And beautiful sculptures adorn the entrance hall.But the maintenance falls far short of Trivandram temple and lacks its aura and grandeur.

The paintings on the outside wall of the sanctum are all peeling off and at certain places white washed.The arrangement ,the corridors , paintings are just like Padmanabha swamy temple at Trivandram but the sparkle is missing.

However i had a peaceful darshan of the 22 feet reclining moorthy ,facing west unlike Padmanabha who faces east,as there was no crowd at all , only a handful of divya desam devotees like us.

On seeing the excellent visage with a smile hovering at the corner of the mouth ,a sharp nose and a band tied around the forehead and looked like one relaxing after a hard day's work of creation , the fatigue of the travel and the pain of climbing those steep stairs slipped away.

Lord Krishna must have looked as winsome , pleasant and charming as the idol of Adi Kesava perumal ,before me.so i felt.

The ancient belief is that Bhagwan wrestled with a asura called kesi and defeated him in these very hillocks that rose to avert it being flooded by the waters of Ganga and Tamiraparani that were rushing to rescue that asura in response to the pleas of his wife.The river splits into two over here.The moolavar is known as Adi Kesava perumal for having defeated Kesi.

The sanctum is thus constructed that the setting sun's rays fall on the face of the moolavar, in cloudless evenings. i didnt see it because i had to cover yet another temple and time was pressing.