Tiruvilvamala Temple is the foremost among the shrines dedicated to
Lord Vishnu in
Kerala. It is a temple complex situated at
Tiruvilvamala, a village in
Thrissur District of
Kerala. The temple is also known by the name Sri Vilwadrinatha Temple. It is about 29 km north of
Thrissur and 20 km from
Palakkad.
The temple complex, situated atop the hill, has two shrines side by side - one dedicated to Lord Ram and the other to his brother Lakshman. Besides the images of presiding deities, the two shrines have the idols of Vishnu. The west facing sanctum (Rama temple) houses a 5 ft tall gold plated image of chaturbhuja Vishnu. The east facing shrine (Lakshman temple) has a 3 ft tall stone image of Vishnu, decorated with fine jewelry and garlands.
The image of Ram is said to have been installed by Lord Parashuram, while the image of Lakshman is by Aamalaka, a sage and a devotee of Vishnu. There is also a Ganesh shrine and Ayyappa shrine in the vicinity.
The temple complex has pyramidal two storied copper plated roofs with gables. Ornamental gopuradwaras or entry tower- bases, without the towers, add to its charm. The water required for daily worship is drawn from a tank in the north-east side of Rama temple.
Ekadashi Festival, the main festival at the temple falls on the Ekadasi in the Malayalam month of Kumbha (February/March). To add the colorfulness of the festival, there are processions in which caparisoned elephants take part.
