April 1 of 2014 I was fortunate to travel with Safari devotees to Shri Padmanabhaswami temple in Kerola, South India. Western people cannot enter the temple unless they have stamped permission from ISKCON. Strict traditional Indian clothing code is observed. There is five tier police/ military check point to enter the temple due to uncounted wealth on temple grounds (calculated at $20 billion plus about $1 trillion in Chamber B) . To enter, you must bring your passport and stamped paper with clearance to your name. No electronic devices of any kind are allowed at all. Even your jappa bag gets searched at the entrance. But all was worth it when you got inside the Temple! Wide, pillar- lined lengthy rectangular corridors were dressed with bright red tapestries to create regal ambiance. Following the path we got to the narrow area with staircase, leading to the main altar! What a sight! Maha Visnu’s is 18 ft long and can be observed through three altars: His Lordship head and right arm resting on Shiva lingam, His Lordship naval with Brahma resting in the flowering lotus flower and His Lordship lotus feet. Lord Padmanabha is glorious! We had an indescribable darshan and Lord’s blessings! We are so fortunate. All glories to Lord Pardmanabha! This ancient temple is mentioned in many major Vedic puranas (Brahmanda, Skanda, Padma, Varaha, etc) In Srimad Bhagavatam Cantor 10 ch 79 says that Lord Balarama visited this temple in course of his pilgrimage. Temple also mentioned in Mhabharata. Lord Chaitanya visited this temple when he tour South India. In 1999 Jayapataka Swami installed impressions of Lord Chaitanya’s Lotus feet at the temple. You must be a Hindu to enter this sacred temple.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 00:18:08 +0000
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