Pawan Kalyan Offers Prayers at Kerala’s Thriprayar Sree Rama Temple During Ayurvedic Treatment Stay

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, who is currently in Kerala for Ayurvedic treatment, visited the Thriprayar Sree Rama Temple in Thrissur district on Friday evening, …visited the Thriprayar Sree Rama Temple in Thrissur district on Friday evening, according to a post shared by the Jana Sena Party.. Rather than a brief darshan, he took part in several of the temple’s traditional rituals and offerings.

The temple is one of the four shrines of Kerala’s Nalambalam pilgrimage, dedicated to Lord Rama and his brothers Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna.

Evening Deepaaradhana

Pawan Kalyan sponsored the day’s evening Deepaaradhana and lit the lamps himself as part of the ritual. He also lit the main lamps at the Sree Krishna shrine facing the temple’s entrance, before offering prayers to Lord Rama and watching the evening rituals.

He offered silk garments to Lord Krishna and Lord Ayyappa, and special prayers were then held for Dakshinamurthy, Lord Ganesha and Anantha Padmanabha Swamy. At the end of the rituals, the temple’s chief priest presented him with theertham and prasadam and blessed him.

Feeding the Fish: The Meenootu Ritual

Before praying to Lord Rama, Pawan Kalyan visited the Krishna shrine on the northern side of the complex and took part in Meenootu, the ritual feeding of fish.

The temple stands on the banks of the Theevra river, and feeding its fish is one of Thriprayar’s best-known customs. Devotees regard it as an offering to Lord Vishnu in his Matsya (fish) avatar.

An Offering of 1,001 Firecrackers

He also took part in Vedi Vazhipadu, the ceremonial bursting of firecrackers for which Thriprayar is widely known, and paid for 1,001 crackers.

Temple tradition links the ritual to the Ramayana: it is said that Hanuman announced the discovery of Sita with a victorious cry, and that Lord Rama answered with the sound of fireworks.

He later offered prayers to Lord Ayyappa, worshipped at the temple as Sree Sastha, and received prasadam.

The Legend Behind the Temple

According to local tradition, the idol of Lord Rama at Thriprayar was once worshipped by Lord Krishna in the Dvapara Yuga. When Dwarka sank into the sea, the idols of Rama and his three brothers are believed to have washed ashore on the Kerala coast, where they were installed in four separate temples. Together, these form today’s Nalambalam circuit.

Source: Jana Sena Party on X.