Shree Rama Temple, TRIPRAYAR

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The Triprayar Temple is located towards the south of Trichur and is

one of the important temples dedicated to Lord Rama. The temple was

originally under the domain of the Zamorin rulers of Kerala and later

came under the possession of the Dutch, the Mysore sultans and the

rulers of Cochin.

Legenad has it that the images of the four heroic brothers, Ram ,

Laxman,Bharat and Satrugna were washed asore and found by a village

chieftain, Vakkey Kaimal, who informed the Maharaja who, in turn

arranged to instal them in different spots.Rama at Triprayar, Laxman

atThirumoozhikkalam, Bharat at Irinjalakuda, and Satrugna at Payammel.

Worshipping at all these four temples on the same day is considered

very auspecious.

In Triprayar temple,

The image of Rama is similar to the Chaturbhuja Vishnu form with four

arms, holding a conch, a disc, a bow and a garland respectively. It

is believed that the deity possesses some of the features of Shiva

too. The image is adorned with necklaces and other fine jewelry.

Images of Sridevi and Bhudevi are on the two sides of the image. The

image of Dakshinamurti in the sanctum faces the south. It is also

believed that the Rama portrayed with a garland in his hands is

indicative of aspects of Brahma. The deity is considered to be a

manifestation of the Trimurtis. An invisible manifestation of Hanuman

is worshipped in a mandapam across the hall from the sanctum. There

is also a shrine to Ganapati in Triprayar temple. The shrine to

Saasta or Ayyappan is in the outer courtyard of the temple. It is

believed that the Saasta shrine was placed originally at the place

corresponding to the temple's sanctum.

 

Five worship services are performed through out the day. They are

usha, etirthu, panthirati, uccha and athazha. A processional figure

of the deity is carried around the temple three times a day.

 

The delicate woodcarvings, sculptures and wall painting naturally

decorate the Triprayar Temple. The namaskara mandapam, which faces

the circular sanctum or the Sri Kovil, contains 24 panels of

woodcarvings and several ancient frescos. The circular sanctum is

decorated with several sculptural representations of scenes from the

Ramayana.

The daily special pooja offerings are - 101 Kathana vedi (signifying

the arrival of Hanuman with the good news that Sita hs been found)

and Meenootu (feeding the fish that are in the river right in front

of the temple).

The Snake Boat Race is organized during the Onam festival in the

months of August / September. The Pooram festival is celebrated for 7

days in the Malayala month of Meenam. Each day of seven days the

procession starts from Triprayar for a certain place where the arattu

(bathing ceremony) is held, giving- opportunity to thousands outside

Triprayar to offer Worship to the deity. The festival concludes in

the Pooram asterism. The Ekadashi festival is also celebrated in the

month of November-December. The Ekadasi festival is marked by a

procession of Rama flanked by 21 elephants and all the royal

paraphernalia.