Cochin Thirumala Devaswom Temple is located in the heart of Mattancherry town in
Ernakulam District. The temple complex is located in an area of 6 acres. The presiding deity of the temple is
Lord Vishnu known as Gosripurastha Thirumala Devar or Shri Venkateswara.
The idol is believed to be
swayambhu, worshipped by Saluva Narasimha Raya of Vijayanagar. In 16th century, the idol was brought to Kochi by Swami Vijayeendra Tirtha of Kumbakonam, after the ruin of the
Vijayanagar Empire.
The temple is also known as Shri Venkatachalapathi Temple and the idol had to be shifted several times before it found a permanent abode. The first installation of the deity was done in AD 1599. Then the temple was the scene of battle between the Dutch and Portuguese and the deity was moved to
Udayamperur for safety and was brought back in AD 1663.
After the renovation of the temple, the second installation was done in AD 1719. Due to the destructive action of Saktan Thampuran, then Raja of Kochi, the deity was shifted to Alappuzha in AD 1791. In 1853, the idol was installed for the third time in the present reconstructed temple.
Shri Hanuman temple,
Vrindavan Temple,
Vighneswara Temple, Shri Mahalakshmi Temple, Garuda Temple and
Udyaneswar Shiva Temple are the five smaller temples in the complex. Papanasam tank, where the Chakrasnanam is conducted twice a year during the eighth day of temple festival, is on the north-east corner.
The temple celebrates two eight-day festival annually, Ratholsavam in the month of November or December, and Mahotsavam on the full moon day of the month Chaitra (March-April).
