Vennimala temple declared protected monument

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Minister for Culture K.C. Joseph at the Sreerama-Lakshmana Swamy temple at Vennimala that was declareda protected monument on Tuesday.

The Sreerama-Lakshmana Swamy temple at Vennimala near Pampady has been declared a protected monument by the State government. Making the declaration, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the work on restoration of the temple structure would be completed in a time bound manner.

Minister for Culture K.C. Joseph said works worth Rs. 40 lakh would be taken up as part of the restoration process. This includes Rs.29 lakh for the restoration of ‘valiambalam’, ‘koothambalam’ and ‘balikkalpura’.

The remaining Rs.11 lakh would be spent on the renovation of ‘gopuram’ and ‘aanapanthal’, he said.

President of the Dewaswom administration K.A. Prasad presided. Representatives of the department of archaeology, members of the panchayat and others were present.

The legend goes that the temple was built by the ruler, Cheraman Perumal. He is believed to have built a fort in the hill, naming it Vijayadri. According to the legends, the place then came to be known as Vennimala.

With the fragmentation of his empire and the creation of the Vadakkumkoor and Thekkumkoor dynasties, the temple came under the Thekkumkoor dynasty which ruled the region for a long period.

The temple is believed to be nearly 1,000 years old, though the present structure may be of a later time. The main idol is that of Lakshmana Perumal. In its heyday, the temple was counted among the ‘mahakshetras’, organising five ‘poojas’ and three ‘sreebalis’ every day.