Ananthapura Temple

Sri Ananthapadmanabha swami Temple
-photo by Ajayan

Sri Ananthapadmanabha swami temple is situated in northern end of Kerala, in Ananthapura near Kumbla, Kasaragod district. The temple is dedicated to Lord MahaVishnu. This temple is situated in the middle of a rectangular lake. This is actually the specialty about the temple. I haven't seen such a model of construction before. In the "sreekovil"  Lord MahaVishnu (Sri Anantha Padbhanabha) is depicted as seated on the divine serpent Anantha. The 'Gopuram' and the "Sreekovil" of the temple is connected by a small bridge as you can see in the photo.The place Ananthapura is a rocky area. This is also a natural beauty of the place. 

The Ananthapura Temple is actually the original source of Sri Ananthapadmanabha swami temple that located in Trivandrum, Kerala. The place is actually a remote area without the disturbance of people and busy of city. It provides with peace of mind as well as some sort of positive energy.

Another wonderful thing is the presence of a crocodile in the lake over which the temple is built. The crocodile is named "BABIA". The mystery about this is that existence of single crocodile in the lake. When one dies another one appears and no one has ever seen more than one crocodile in the lake. And there is no river or other ponds where crocodile can exist. This is still a mystery. People from different places comes here to see this crocodile.

The temple  has paintings of puranic themes also, this is something the specialty of Indian temples. Most of them have marvelous paintings or the sculptures based on some puranic story. Here the temple is like we have to step down to the lake over which the "Sreekovil" is built. This temple is blessed with vibrant spiritual power of Lord Maha Vishnu which makes it a favorite place for people.

Landscape, rocky land covered by grass-photo by Ajayan

People coming over here can shoot nice landscape view of Ananthapura. The rocky land is also covered with green grass creates a contrast image. You can see in the photo. The mornings and evenings are very pleasant and beautiful scenery. The sunrise and sunset over the sprawling hillocks  can contribute much to HDR photography.  And this is also a vast panoramic scene.

HOW TO REACH:

Sign board-photo by Ajayan

Nearest railway station: Kasaragod

Nearest Airport: Mangalore

We have to travel through Kasaragod - Mangalore Highway (that is National Highway-47 running through Kerala) to Kumbla (about 20 min from Kasaragod and 1hr from mangalore), then you can catch local buses or private cabs to Ananthapura (about 6kms from Kumbla).

Stay is available at Kasaragod and at Kumbla. You can also have the natural and homely food of Kerala available in all of the restaurants.