WORLD'S RICHEST TEMPLE - SHREE ANANTHA PADMANABHASWAMY TEMPLE

Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala takes its name from the presiding deity of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple,  The word 'Thiruvananthapuram' literally means - the Land of Sree Anantha Padmanabhaswamy.

The temple is located inside the East Fort in Thiruvananthapuram,  is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This temple is a blend of the Kerala and Dravidian styles of architecture. Now It is believed the world’s richest temple  of the world after finding the secret vaults under the garbhagriha of temple.

The temple interiors are adorned by beautiful paintings and murals and the temple's architecture is stands out for its work in stone and bronze.  Some of them are that of the life-size images of Lord Vishnu in the reclining posture, Narasimha Swamy, Lord Ganapati and Gaja Lakshmi. The temple has a dhwaja stamba, that is about 80 ft high and is covered with gold plated copper sheets.

The temple also has some interesting structural features in the form of Bali Peeda Mandapam and Mukha Mandapam. These are halls, decorated with beautiful sculptures of various Hindu deities. Another structure that captures attention here is the Navagraha Mandapa the ceiling of which displays the navagrahas (the nine planets). Extending from the eastern side into the sanctum sanctorum is a broad corridor which has 365 and one-quarter sculptured granite-stone pillars with beautiful carvings. There is a ground floor below under the main entrance in the eastern side, which is known as the nataka sala (literally means drama hall), where Kerala's classical art form - the Kathakali is performed during the annual ten-day festival at the temple, held during the Malayalam months of Meenam and Thulam.
Darshan timings

Morning :
03:30 a.m. to 04:45 a.m. (Nirmalya Darshanam)
06:30 a.m. to 07:00 a.m.
8.30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
10:30 a.m. to 11:10 a.m.
11:45 a.m. to 12:00 Noon
Evening :
05:00 p.m. to 06:15 p.m.
06:45 p.m. to 07:20 p.m.

The temple darshan timings are subject to change during the festival occasion. and only Hindus are permitted to enter inside the temple. There is a strict dress code that needs to be followed while entering the temple. Men need to wear mundu or dhoti (worn around the waist and going down up to the heels) and should not wear shirts of any kind. Women need to wear sari, mundum neriyathum (set-mundu), skirt and blouse, or half sari. Dhotis are available for rent at the temple entrance. Nowadays temple authorities allow wearing of dhotis over pants or churidhar to avoid inconvenience to the devotees.

Please login to : www.sreepadmanabhaswamytemple.org for further details

How to Reach :
Nearest Railway station: Thiruvananthapuram Central -1 km
Nearest Airport: Trivandrum International Airport, - 6 km