Know the unknown temples of Lord Vamana

Onam is celebrated in whole India as the festival of Kerala. Onam is the auspicious appearance day of Lord Vamanadev.

Lord Vamana is an incarnation of Lord Krishna who covered the whole universe by His immeasurable steps. He appeared as the youngest son of Aditi and Sage Kashyapa at Triyugi Narayana in the Kedar Khanda of the Himalayas. Bali Maharaja conquered the entire universe including the heavenly planets. In order to return the kingdom to the devatas, Lord Vamana played a trick on Bali Maharaja. He dressed Himself as a dwarf brahmana and asked only three steps of land in donation, to which Bali Maharaja agreed. Lord Vamana assumed the gigantic body and covered the entire universe in just two steps. The remaining step He kept on the head of Bali Maharaja and was thus pleased with his surrender. Therefore, Lord Vamana agreed to stay as the door keeper of Bali Maharaja in the Sutala planet. By offering everything to Krishna, nobody is the loser, in fact they are gainer by millions of times.

There are only few Lord Vamana’s temples in India all of them mostly unknown to the devotees. Know about these Lord Vamana’s temples below:

Sri Vamana Moorthy Temple, Thrikkakarai near Ernakulam, Kerala

Thrikkakarai means the place where Lord kept His foot. Thiru-kal-kari. The temple is situated 6 kms east of Idapally near Cochi. The temple is associated with the feats of Lord Vamana and is also one of the 108 Sri Vaishnava Divya Deshams. After Lord Vamana sent Maharaja Bali to the Sutala planet, he requested him that his subjects have enough wealth, are well fed and satisfied. Lord Vamana and agreed and he also allowed Maharaja Bali to visit Kerala once in a year on the day of the Onam. Kapila Muni performed tapasya in this temple and pleased Lord Vishnu. Lord then granted him the boon to stay in this place. This temple also has the throne made for Maharaja Bali. During the time of great devotee-King Kulashekhara, this temple witnessed Onam festival being celebrated for 28 days.

Oolagalanda Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu

This beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Vamana is located in Kanchipuram near Kamakshi Amman Temple. It is also one among the 108 Sri Vaishnava Divya Deshams. Lord Vamana or Oolagalanda Perumal appeared here in front of Bali Maharaja and the Azhwars the great devotees of Lord Vishnu in the Sri Vaishnava sect. The Deity of Lord Vamana is 35 feet tall, with His right leg raised and two fingers stretched out in His left hand indicating that He has already conquered two steps and where to keep the third step. You will be awestuck beholding this amazing form of the Lord. This temple also houses 4 Divya Deshams in the same complex.

Oolagalanda Perumal Temple, Thirukoyilur, Tamil Nadu

Dedicated to Lord Vamana, this temple is also one among the 108 Sri Vaishnava Divya Deshams. It is here that Lord gave darshan to Bali Maharaja and Azhwars. This temple is also one among the Panchakannan Kshetrams – the five Sri Vaishnava temples associated with Lord Krishna. This temple’s gopura is the third tallest gopura in Tamil Nadu. Here the Deity of the Lord is seen with Panchajanya in His right hand the Sudarshana in the left hand which is very rare compared to usual temples of Lord Vishnu. There is Chakra Tirtha in the temple, the waters of which are believed to be from the lotus feet of Lord Vamana when Lord Brahma worshiped Lord Vamana.

Trivikrama Vamana Temple, Sirkazhi, Tamil Nadu

Being one among the 108 Sri Vaishnava Divya Deshams, the beautiful feature in this temple is that the left leg of Lord Trivikrama is raised above His head. Lord’s right hand is in the mudra of receiving charity and the left hand indicates where to keep the last step. Here the Lord is also glorified as Thavittu Panai Thadalan. Thai means the Universe and Aalan means the ruler. As the Lord scaled this entire universe with His sacred foot, Andal calls Him as Thadalan. Generally Mahalakshmi resides on the chest of Lord Vishnu but in this temple Lord Vishnu is beheld by Mahalakshmi on Her chest. Since the Lord is standing with one leg, to help Him balance and not feel the pain of standing on one leg, Mahalakshmi is holding Him. Sage Romesha performed tapasya here to have darshan of Lord Narayana as Lord Trivikrama.

Triyugi Narayana Temple, near Kedarnath, Uttarakhand

Amongst Lord Vamana’s temples, this temple is very important as this is the birthplace of Lord Vamana and hence the Kedar Khanda is also known as the Vamana Kshetra. This temple is located in the Triyuginarayana village and is mostly famous as the wedding spot of Devi Parvati and Lord Shiva, keeping Lord Vishnu as the witness. Triyuginarayana was the capital of Himavat kingdom. In this temple the sacred fire of marriage is still burning since the marriage of Lord Shiva. Hence this is also called as the Akhanda Dhuni Temple. Here one can have darshan of Saraswati Kunda which originated from the navel of Lord Vishnu.

Apart from these ancient Lord Vamana’s temples, there are more temples from the 5th Century located in Khajuraho, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh which are important from the view point of archaeology and architecture.

Whenever you are nearby these places visit these Lord Vamana’s temples and be blessed by the darshan of the Supreme Lord in His Trivikrama form.