Thirumala Temples of Alleppey 

(Discovering Alleppey on a bicycle)  

Two temples, one stolen deity, and a town shaped by faith

Coordinates: -

Old Thirumala Temple: 9.4876820° N, 76.3401378° E

Anantha Narayana Puram Temple: 9.4963684° N, 76.3461788°

A Cyclist's Discovery

Some discoveries happen in distant lands; others await us on familiar streets, often unnoticed for several years. All it takes is a bicycle, a curious mind, and the willingness to look beyond the road.

It was on one such ride that I first noticed the New Thirumala Temple at Anantha Narayana Puram. What caught my attention were two imposing murals at the entrance, depicting Lord Narasimha Moorthy with Lakshmi Devi and Lord Venkatachalapathy. Their commanding presence was difficult to miss, even from the saddle of a passing bicycle.

I learnt that Lord Narasimha, the fierce incarnation of Lord Vishnu, is revered as an Ugra Moorthy. Thereafter, my daily cycling route acquired a small but meaningful ritual: whenever I passed the temple, I would slow down and pay my obeisance.

Curiosity soon led me to the Old Thirumala Temple, nestled in the traditional Konkani settlement of Thirumala. What began as an ordinary cycling excursion gradually became a daily journey of devotion and discovery. My bicycle was no longer merely a means of exercise. It had become my passport to Alleppey's history, heritage and spiritual landscape.

The more I learnt about these two temples, the more I realised that they were not merely places of worship. Their stories were intimately intertwined with the growth of Alleppey and Cochin as a flourishing commercial town, the migration of the Konkani community, the intrigues of princely states and an extraordinary episode involving the clandestine removal of a sacred idol.

Here, then, is the fascinating story behind these two landmarks of our town.

The Konkanis: A Community Shaped by Migration

The Thirumala temples are closely associated with the Gowda Saraswat Brahmins (GSBs), popularly known as Konkanis, a community distinguished by its dialect, traditions, religious practices and remarkable entrepreneurial spirit. Their history is one of migration, resilience and adaptation. Over the centuries, they established themselves in trade, commerce, education and other professions, making significant contributions to the social and economic life of Kerala.

 

Wanderings of Gowda Saraswat Brhmins

Traditional accounts trace them as originally living on the banks of ancient River Saraswathi during the Vedic times. The Konkanis migrated to the south after the river dried up, and settled near the present-day Orissa/Bihar area (Thrihothrapura). Sage Parasurama invited 96 families of GSBs to "purify" or "sanctify" the new land that was reclaimed from the sea (Konkan-Goa region).

Whatever the variations in these early accounts, the better-known historical chapter of the Konkani migration is associated with Goa and the arrival of Portuguese rule.

 

The Great Exodus from Goa

The Portuguese conquest of Goa and the subsequent religious persecution, forced conversions and desecration of Hindu places of worship drove many Konkani families to seek refuge further south, particularly during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Travelling by sea along the Western coast on boats, 12000 families moved into the coastal regions of Karnataka and Kerala. Calicut was among their destinations, where the Zamorin initially extended them a welcome. As more families arrived, however, some moved further south to Cochin.

At Kochi  (Cochin) the (a Dutch controlled territory), they were welcomed by the Raja HH Veera Kerala Varma Thampuran and the Dutch, and were allotted large tracts of land for their settlements, business and also for constructing their Temples. Many taxes were exempted for them and were privileged. The GSB community also flourished and prospered financially and socially and as a measure of their contribution to society they were honoured with key political posts both at the Raja’s court as well as with the Dutch Governor. They established themselves as a prosperous mercantile community

They built homes, places of worship, warehouses and trading establishments. Their commercial networks expanded, and members of the community acquired considerable influence in the affairs of the kingdom.

Their relationship with the ruling establishment was not always harmonious, however. The prosperity they had painstakingly built would soon be tested by a bitter confrontation with the Cochin crown.

 

The Cochin conflict: When Faith and Power Collided

In 1791, the new Raja of Cochin, Sakthan Thampuran, demanded certain forms of Tax from Konkani settlers. This led to serious frictions between the Crown and certain leading merchants of the community. The Dutch intervened as the move was violative of the agreement made by Dutch in 1772. On refusal, the Raja arrested a number of Konkani merchants and ordered them to pay customs to the king thereby violating the earlier Dutch agreement.

The Dutch Governor even ordered Dutch Forces deployments. The relations of affected Konkanis with the Raja continued non-cordial. And the Raja initiated severe punitive actions against the erring.  This led to open war of the Crown and the Dutch. The Dutch Army which attacked the Mattanchery Palace of the King was repulsed. These all added to only severe persecution of some sections of Konkanis by the Raja. The dispute escalated. Merchants were subjected to punitive measures, and community traditions preserve accounts of severe persecution, including the execution of a prominent merchant named Kini, on non supply of jaggery (Solid dark unrefined sugar) to royal house hold.

The conflict was not merely about taxation or commercial privileges. It struck at the heart of the community's religious and social security. Their temple was attacked by the Kings soldiers and plundered. This ignominy of the Hindu King ravaging a temple was a blot on the otherwise serene and tranquil history and saga of the temple. The devotees desired to safe guard their precious idols- the Venkatachalapati idol (Thirumala Devar) along with the idols of Lakshmi Devi from Cochin Gosripuram temple, which were initially transported to the Dutch for safety and later smuggled out to the GSB temple at Thuravoor , which was under Travancore Kingdom, through a lot of planning and adventure through the coastal route.

Thus began one of the most extraordinary chapters in the history of the Thirumala temples.

 

A Sacred Journey to Alleppey

In 1792, according to the traditional account, persecuted Konkani families fled Cochin and sought refuge in the Travancore kingdom, including at Thuravoor and Alleppey.

They placed their grievances before the Travancore authorities through the influential Dewan, Raja Kesavadas, who is closely associated with the development of Alleppey as a planned commercial port.

The Travancore administration permitted the refugees to settle in Alleppey while the political situation in Cochin remained unsettled.

With them came their religious traditions, commercial skills and determination to rebuild their lives. They too had brought along with them the holy idols of Venkitachalapathy along with that of Lakshmi Devi from Cochin Gosripuram temple, which were installed for prayers at Old Thirumala Temple. 

Another version states the Venkatachalapathy idol along with the idols of Lakshmi Devi from Cochin Gosripuram temple and Narasimha Moorthi from Thuravoor temple were shiftedby Temple authorities  to Alapuzha Venkatachalapathy Temple (Old Tirumala Temple) and kept in the North Agrasala.

The fact is that these idols remained there for more than 60 years. Accounts differ on the precise movement of individual idols, particularly the image of Narasimha Moorthy, with some traditions associating it with Thuravoor and others as retrieved from ruins of a temple at Purakkad subsequent to the theft of Venkatachalapati idol, after a Deva Prasna.

The sacred idol of Lord Venkatachalapati, together with other images associated with the community's temples, became central to the story of their settlement.

The Old Thirumala Temple of Venkatachalapathy, Alleppey, became an important centre of worship for the Konkani settlers. For the displaced community, the temple represented far more than a religious sanctuary. It was a symbol of continuity, collective identity and the hope of beginning anew.

The Rise in Trade and Enterprise

It is difficult to tell the story of the Thirumala temples without recalling the remarkable transformation of Alleppey during this period. Under the vision of Raja Kesavadas, Alleppey developed into an important centre of maritime trade. Its waterways, canals and access to the coast offered considerable commercial advantages.

The arrival and settlement of the Konkani merchants added another dimension to this growth. They established pandikasalas - warehouses and trading establishments - and engaged in extensive commercial activity. The community's entrepreneurial energy contributed to the expansion of trade and the growth of the town.

A fascinating tradition connects the presence of the sacred Venkatachalapati idol with Alleppey's prosperity. The deity was believed to have brought divine blessings to the settlement, and the town's flourishing fortunes became inseparable, in the popular imagination, from the presence of the Lord.

Temples  and the Rise of Alleppey

The story of Thirumala temples unfolds against the remarkable transformation of Alleppey into a major commercial port. Under Raja Kesavadas, the Dewan, the town developed around its waterways and maritime connections. Konkani merchants contributed to this growth by establishing and building commercial networks. Their enterprise helped strengthen Alleppey’s position as a centre of trade.

Powerful local belief emerged that the presence of Lord Venkatachalapati brought prosperity to the town. To the faithful, Alleppey’s growing fortunes were a manifestation of divine grace; historically, the towns rise also reflected strategic planning, maritime trade and the initiative of its merchant communities like Jains, Marwaris, Kuchis, Konkanis etc. Faith and commerce became inter-twined in the collective memory of Alleppey.

For a cyclist exploring Alleppey today, it is a reminder that the history of a town is often hidden in the stories of its temples.

 

Anantha Narayana Puram: A New Home for the Lord

As the sacred idol acquired increasing significance in Alleppey, the Cochin rulers sought its restoration. The accounts of the period describe repeated efforts by Cochin to recover the deity, while the Travancore authorities were reluctant to part with an image believed to be closely associated with the prosperity of Alleppey's port.

The Travancore administration wished to provide the deity with a more suitable and secure place of worship.

According to the temple's traditional history, Dewan Krishna Rao acquired land and provided timber and financial assistance for the construction of a new temple, approximately two kilometres south of the Old Thirumala Temple.The new temple came to be associated with Anantha Narayana Puram, a name bestowed upon the locality in connection with the Travancore royal establishment.

The construction of this temple was an important milestone for the Konkani community of Alleppey. It provided a new centre for worship and reinforced the community's enduring presence in the town.

But the story was far from over. What followed reads almost like a historical thriller.

The Midnight Disappearance of Venkateshwara - Thirumala Devar

Sakthan Thampuran made vain attempts to bring back Tirumala Deity from Alleppey to Cochin. He also made attempts to get back the Tirumala Deity through the Dutch Government functioning at Cochin. After the death of Sakthan Thampuran, Raja Rama Varma who succeeded him took keen interest in the deity and wished to get it back to Cochin. The Raja therefore requested Col. Munro, the Resident of Cochin and Travancore to use his good offices for restoration of the image in question to Cochin; But the request was turned down by as a result of urgent representation of Travancore officers that the presence of the image was considered to be intimately connected with the prosperity of the Port of Alleppey.

The dispute remained unresolved for decades.

Then, on the night of 7 February 1853, came the episode that would forever mark the history of the Anantha Narayana Puram Temple.

The desperate Cochin Konkanies who returned to Cochin planned the recovery of the deity by hook or crook. Ultimately the idol of Venkatachalapati was clandestinely brought back to Cochin on the midnight of 7th Feb 1853 (just 10 months after it was installed in the new temple). It was taken out of the Alleppey Ananthanarayana Puram Temple at night in a basket covered by Naivedyam (Mooleepu) - food offered to deity and carried to Cochin by country boat via Aroor, beyond which was the Cochin State.

The people of Alleppey came to know about this only in the next morning by the time the idol was beyond the Travancore State boundary and could not do anything.

Imagine the shock and consternation of the devotees when they learnt that their beloved deity had vanished overnight! For the people of Alleppey, this was no ordinary theft. It was the loss of a sacred presence around which faith, community   identity and local tradition had grown over generations.

The Legal Battle between Two Kingdoms

The disappearance of the idol led to a prolonged dispute between Travancore and Cochin.

Since it was found that the Raja of Cochin had his hand in the Robbery, the Maharaja of Travancore supplicated with the governor of Madras, through the Resident of Travancore for the restitution of the idol in question, and the whole matter was referred to the Hon. Court of Madras, and a long drawn-out suit ensued between the two states, Cochin and Tranvancore. The Konkanies of Cochin got through all ordeals and finally the Idol was duly reinstated in the Cochin Temple itself.

The episode illustrates the extraordinary extent to which a temple deity could become entangled in the affairs of princely states, political authority and public sentiment.

 

The Present Deity

The present deity of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy has been consecrated there after Deva Prasanams and as per the Will of the God.

The original idols of Laksmi Devi and Narasimha Murthi of Thuravoor are still at the Temple. A new idol of Venkatachalapathy was installed in this temple  by Srimad Varadendra Tirtha in 1933 A.D.

Thus, despite the upheavals of the past, the temple continued to serve its devotees. The loss of one sacred image did not extinguish the faith of the community. Indeed, perhaps that is the most enduring lesson of the entire episode: a deity may be carried away, a temple may suffer adversity, and political boundaries may change, but faith can survive the passage of centuries.

 

The Legend of the Miraculous Idol

The story of Lord Venkatachalapathy stretches back much further than the migration of the Konkani community to Kerala.

Legend has it that Saluva Barasiharya the Emperor of the kingdom of Vijayanagar was an ardent and faithful devotee and a frequent pilgrim of the hallowed Lord Venkatachalapathy of Tirupathi. On account of infirmities consequent upon his old age and despite his insatiable desire to offer worship but being physically unable to do so, it is believed that the Lord Himself appeared to him in a celestial dream.

Thereafter a sculptor promptly came to the place and miraculously materials and ingredients for a panchaloha (made of five metals) idol along with a work site appeared. The next morning the emperor opened the door of the work place and lo and behold an exquisite and effulgent idol of Lord Venkatachalapthi had adorned the temple spreading His splendour and radiance.

No one was left with any doubt that the Divine sculptor was none other than Shri Srinivasa (Lord Vishnu) the Lord of the Seven Hills who incarnated Himself for the benefit of mankind. The idol became the personal Deity of Saluva Narasimharaya for the rest of his life and was bequeathed to the great emperor Krishnadevaraya who ascended the throne in 1509.

 

How the Holy Idol became GSB Property

After the decline and fall of Vijayanagar city as a result of the battle of Talikota in 1565 the idol was in interests of safety abandoned in a well by a priest from which spot the renowned seer of Kumbakonam Math Swami Vijayendra Theertha discovered the precious idol. During the course of his peregrinations and travel from place to place he camped for some time in Kochi as a revered guest of the GSB community in 1589. The idol was gifted to the community by him. Later on the prathista (installation) was done by Swami Vijayendra Theertha. The distinctive feature of this temple is that the yearly seven-day Akhanta Sapthaham (non-stop prayers and rituals) is performed here.

For the devotees, the idol is not simply a work of sacred art. It is the embodiment of a long spiritual journey - from Vijayanagar to Cochin, and from the world of royal patrons to the daily prayers of generations of ordinary worshippers.

 

The Halo of Venkatachalapathy

With Kochi becoming the new abode of the Lord, the city thrived and grew in stature as a premier hub of international trade especially with the European countries.

The chequered history of the temple is also fused with the history of the Alapuzha town and its remarkable progress earned it the sobriquet of “Venice of the East”. The halo and the aura of the idol was so manifest and obvious

The Konkani community was among the many groups whose enterprise and perseverance helped shape this transformation.

          The halo of the deity, as it were, extended beyond the sanctum sanctorum and into the history of the town itself.

 

The Konkani Contribution to Modern Kerala

The contribution of the Konkani community to Kerala's educational, medical, cultural and commercial development deserves wider recognition.

In and around Alleppey, the community's educational initiatives include institutions associated with the T.D. educational network, the S.V.D. U.P. School at Purakkad and the development of medical education in the region. T.D. Medical College, established in the 1960s, became a significant landmark in Kerala's medical education.

These institutions reflect a tradition of community investment that extended beyond business and religious life into the advancement of education and public welfare.

The temples, schools, trading establishments and charitable initiatives together tell the story of a community that endured displacement, rebuilt its fortunes and made a lasting contribution to its adopted home.

 

Back on the Bicycle

And so, my cycling journeys around Alleppey have taken me far beyond the pleasure of a morning ride.

A pair of imposing temple murals led me to discover a story of migration, persecution, royal intervention, maritime trade, a miraculous idol and a midnight disappearance that reads like something out of a historical novel.

The Old Thirumala Temple, tucked away amid the traditional Konkani settlement, and the New Thirumala Temple at Anantha Narayana Puram are much more than two points on my cycling map. They are living repositories of Alleppey's collective memory.

Perhaps this is the true joy of discovering one's own town on a bicycle. You begin by exploring its roads and end by exploring its soul. Alleppey has many stories to tell. Some lie in its canals and backwaters; others in its old warehouses, merchant houses and forgotten lanes. And some, like the story of Thirumala Devar, reside quietly within the walls of its ancient temples, waiting for a curious traveller to pause and listen.

Towards the evening of life, the bicycle has become more than a means of keeping fit. It is a time machine on two wheels - carrying me through the living history of the town I call home.

And whenever I pass the Thirumala Temple, I slow down, offer my obeisance and pedal on, a little richer in knowledge and a little more connected to the heritage of Alleppey.

Discovering Alleppey, one pedal stroke at a time.

Jai Venkatachalapathy!🙏

                                                                                                            -Ravi Nair-

(Acknowledgement: Based on material attributed to Quora and temple histories, with historical details retained as traditional accounts where independent verification is required)

 

 

 

.