Arattu - Sri Padmanabhaswami Temple Kerala

ARATTU at THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

(Sree Padmanabhaswami Temple)

        Aratt festival is the closing ceremony of the ten day festival in the Lord Padmanabha temple at Thiruvananthapuram. There are two such festivals every year, one in the Malayalam month of Thulam (October-November) and the other in Meenam (March-April). The Arattu is a ceremonial procession of the Lord at the close of the ten-day-festival. The previous night, there is a procession called pallivetta inside the fort encircling the temple.

The uniqueness of the Arattu at Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple is that the head of the royal family of the erstwhile Travancore kingdom still escorts the idols during the procession.

        On the day of the Arattu, His Highness the Ex-Maharaja enters the corridor of the temple, and after some rituals, the procession takes out through the eastern gate with the accompaniment of nagaswaram, drum etc. His Highness with sword in hand and escorted by armed guards, infantry, mounted police, officers etc. leads the procession to the Sanghumugham beach. A caparisoned elephant goes in front with drum on its back which is beaten to indicate that the God is coming in procession. Six more caparisoned elephants follow. The procession leaves the temple gate at about 5 PM and takes about an hour to reach the seashore. As the procession leaves the ramparts of the fort, a salute of 21 guns is made. On reaching the beach the ceremonial bath is taken in the sea.

During Pallivetta, the head of the royal family shoots a tender coconut using a bow and arrow. This ritual is symbolic of Lord Vishnu (the presiding deity of the shrine) hunting down the demon of evil in a forest and is held in front of the Sundaravilasam Palace inside the East Fort. The Pallivetta is held on the eve of Arattu.

The Arattu procession takes place in the late afternoon. Images of Lord Sree Padmanabhaswamy, Lord Sree Krishna and Lord Sree Narasimha are carried along the three mile route to the shores of the Arabian Sea, at Shanghumukham, escorted by members of the royal family and armed police contingents. These customs and traditions have been practiced down the centuries. The images are given a ritual bath in the sea after the prescribed poojas. A procession in the light of traditional torches escorts the purified idols back to the temple, marking the conclusion of the grand festival.

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple is located in the heart of the city. This richly sculptured structure was renovated in 1733. The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Sree Padmanabhaswamy or Lord Vishnu, reclining on the serpent Anantha. The temple has a blend of Dravidian and Kerala architecture and sprawls over a vast area. The entry to the shrine is restricted to Hindus only.

Getting there:

Nearest railway station: Thiruvananthapuram Central, about 1 km from the shrine.

Nearest airport: Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, about 6 kms from the shrine.