Trichattu Maha Vishnu temple

Trichattu Maha Vishnu temple

(Consecrated by  Yudhishtra, the eldest of Pandavas)

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

      TRichithattu Maha Vishnu temple is sitauated 2 km aaway from Changannur in the Chengannur-Pandanadu road.  People believe that it was a temple  consecrated by Yudhishtra    , the eldest of the Pandavas.  It seems  After Parikshith, the son of Abhimanyu   was made the king,   The Pandavas decided to take  up Vanaprashtha  and came to    Kerala. They were greatly attracted   by the  divine atmosphere at that place.  After dpoing penance there , when they decided   to   go to the other world, . Yudhishtra who had to tell  unwillingly a lie   about Aswathama’s death , was greatly worried about the sin that   he did and wanted to consecrate    The MahaVishnu idol he was  worshipping in some place in Chengannoor. He it seems  consecrated that  statue  in Trichattu.

   Nammalavar a great Vaishnavite saint    of Tamil Nadu had visited this  place and has  sung about this God and because of that this temple is  included as one of the  108  Divya Desams .

   The God in the temple faces  east and adjoining the wall is the tank known as  Trichitharu(Holy stream) or Shanku Theertham. .The temple has a high walled enclosure , which has dorrs on all the four sides. Except for some statues made of wood in the Namaskara Mandap . , the temple has a very simple architecture. But the sanctum sanctorum  is built by granite stone.. The God in this temple is in a standing pose and has been chiseled out of granite   stone.  The peculiarity of the Lord is that only in this temple   the Lord holds  the conch in his right   hand instead of the wheel .The learned people are of the opinion that this indicates that the God  is not  in a position to destroy but to look after  the world.The lord holds the wheel on the left hand and the lotus flower on the lower   right  hand. The temple also has two subsidiary temples , one for God Sastha and the  God Gosala Krishnan.

   This temple was also    the place where the caste court of Namboodiri Brahmins  of Kerala were situated. There used to be one great Namboodiri having a title of Smarthan.  He was the  judge who used to enquire and punish several ladies for the lack of their virtue. This process in the Namboodiri families  were  called   Smartha Vicharam. Thousands of innocent women   under suspicion of having lost    their virtue have been punished    in this place.. The familes of these clans are now almost lost for ever and this great temple which was once great  had lost all its glory. On 18^th may 1996, some miscreatnts broke open the door of the sanctum sanctorum and broke   the original idol. When next day this was noticed, the great thanthric Thazhamon Namboodiri, got out the God’s spirit in that idol and placed  it  on the  Uthsava idol.. Omn 19^th may 1997  a new idol was consecrated     at this temple. Now the temple is again regaining  its pristine glory.