Parthasarathy Temple, Aranmula - 108 Divya Desam

This unique heritage village of Aranmula gets its name from the centuries old Parthasarathy temple on the banks of the river Pamba. It is also famous for its metal mirror, a unique craft called ‘Aranmula Kannadi’ and the famous Aranmula snake boat race. This temple is one of the 108 Divya Desams of lord Vishnu, constructed around the 9th Century. The temple shows Kerala construction style similar to the Ettumanoor Mahadeva temple. Aranmula temple is said to be built by Mahabharata king Arjuna, who came here at the end of the Mahabharata war to expiate for the sin of having killed his relatives, especially his older brother Karna. Legend says that the temple was first built at Nilakkal near Sabarimala and the image was brought here in a raft made of six pieces of bamboo.

Aranmula mirror is a metallic mirror with a front surface reflection. The alloy of this mirror is still unknown to all except a family in Aranmula. It is believed that the ancestors of this family have been brought from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu for constructing the temple. They were well renowned architectures and sculptures. They were once working on different metal combinations to create a crown for the idol of lord Krishna. It turned out to be a good combination of very high reflection power. Unfortunately, they forgot the combination. Being depressed with this they could not sleep also on that night. However, Goddess Meenakshi, their family deity appeared in the dreams of an old lady in that family and revealed secrets of the metallic alloy used in the manufacturing of Aranmula mirrors now.

The really good looking ones are quite expensive. It is a well kept secret, kept tightly to a couple of families, past a lot of generations. The myth behind the snake boat race here is, when Arjuna was returning with lord Krishna’s image after a long penance, there was a huge flood. He was helped by a low caste Hindu giving him the raft of six bamboo pieces to cross the river. Thus, the annual boat race commemorates with the help of the low caste Hindu. The whole temple is on a raised platform that the devotees need to climb 18 steps to reach the Eastern tower. The outer wall has places for lamps which are lit during the festivals. The temple also has beautiful carvings of stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata.