Morning well spent at Thiruvanamthapuram!

We had an official visit to the capital city of Kerala, Thiruvanamthapuram. As it was an official trip we didn't get much time to roam around. So we spent only one day morning visiting the famous Padmanabhaswamy temple and Pazhavangadi Ganapathy temple.

Pazhavangadi Ganapathy Temple:

The Pazhavangadi Maha Ganapathy temple is situated at East Fort in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram City. The main Deity of the temple is Lord Ganapathy. The temple is situated in close proximity to Padmanabhaswamy temple.

As we reached East Fort at around 7:30 and at this time Padmanabhaswamy temple visit is restricted only to family of Maharaja(King) we went straight to visit Pazhavangadi Ganapathy temple. Currently renovation work is going on in this temple so we could not take any pictures. So I searched for some pictures from Google and found one picture which I felt will be apt for this post. 

Padmanabhaswamy temple:

Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu located in Thiruvananthapuram, India. The shrine is currently run by a trust headed by the royal family of Travancore. The principal deity, Padmanabhaswamy(Lord Vishnu), is enshrined in the "Anantha-sayanam" posture (in the eternal sleep of Yoga-nidra on the serpent Anantha). 

This divine temple is one of the very few temples in India where the entry is restricted  to people that practice the Hindu faith. Strict dress code needs to be followed by the pilgrims. Gents are supposed to wear Dhothi. Shirts/banyan are not allowed. Ladies should wear Saree or full length skirt. You are not allowed to carry mobile phones, tablets, laptops, cameras or any other electronic gadgets. There is locker facility provided within the premises where you could keep your mobile,shirt,etc. Photography is strictly prohibited within the premises of the temple. There are shops at the premises which sells Dhothi incase you didn't have one. 

Six huge secret Kallaras or vaults were discovered in this temple which were named A, B, C, D, E and F. The doors were iron-made. A committee members arranged by Supreme Court took utmost toil and hard work to open the secret vaults, and what they revealed was beyond human imagination―bags full of ancient gold coins, diamonds, gemstones, very heavy and huge gold and diamond necklaces. 

The portals of Vault B remained locked despite all efforts made by the committee to open it. Of all the six vaults, the Bharatakkon Kallara or Chamber B is believed to be deeply rooted to God Padmanabhaswamy. 

Darshan Timing:

Morning

03.15 am to 04.15 am (Nirmalya Darshanam)

06.30 am to 07.00 am

08.30 am to 09.15 am

Evening

05.00 pm to 06.15 pm

06.45 pm to 07.20 pm

We stayed at The Central Residency at Manorama road, Thambanoor. I would like to tell you guys the food(complementary breakfast) was really good with a real good service at restaurant.