Pandalam Palace

Pandalam Palace in Kerala is in the holy town of Pandalam. It is 10 km far from the place of Adoor. It is located on the Achankovil River's bank. It is not only considered as a historical place but along with this magnitude it carries religious importance as well. In the current scenario, the palace is home to the Pandalam's royal family, who were the successors of Madurai's Pandya kings. There were very few buildings which remained amongst the new buildings which were constructed in the region after the fires and floods which arrived. It destroyed almost all the buildings of that region and therefore new buildings were constructed out of which some still remained there. It is also said that the deity who is presiding at present in the region, Lord Ayyappa was born here. The Raja of Pandalam was the father of the deity. Pandalam palace is said to be a very popular place of attraction for the tourists.

History

The kingdom of Pandalam came into existence in the period of 903 AD. The successors of the Madurai, the Pandya Kings established the kingdom and this royal family took over the kingdom. The gothra to which the Pandalam's royal family belongs to was the 'Bhargava Gothra'. The area in which the kingdom's territories were extended was over the area of 1000 square miles which is equivalent to 2600 km per square. It consisted of forests and also the mountain ranges.

During Lord Ayyappa's childhood, he had strength big enough to fight with his enemies. He secured the kingdom by fighting with the attacks made by his enemies. Later on, the enemies got vanished in the area of the jungle. The natives of that region started in believing him and also worshipped him as a deity of God. A temple was built later on near the Achankovil River's bank in that region which was dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. The temple which was in Pandalam was exactly a copy of the temple at Sabarimala.

The Makara Vilakku festival is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm in that region. In the procession towards Sabarimala from Pandalam, Lord Ayyappa's sacred ornaments are carried three days prior the festival in that region.

Architecture

At present, there are two complexes in the palace. Valiya koikkal temple is one of them and the Kaipuzha temple is another one. On the left bank of the river Achankovil is the Valiya Koikkal temple and at a distance of about one kilometer from the Valiya Koikkal temple is the Kaipuzha temple which is situated on the opposite bank. The pilgrims enroute to Sabarimala stop by and worship in the temple before moving ahead.

It is also believed during those times, specific instructions were given by Lord Ayyappa himself for the temple's layout during its construction. According to the instructions given by him, on the idol’s left hand side, the Malila purathamma is kept and also the photographs of Kadutha and Vavar are carved which are being seen on the floor. The images are being carved on the holy steps which are 18 in number.

How to reach

Pandalam is in Kerala and it's very easy to reach there as the facilities of air, rail and road are available to reach the place without any difficulties.

By Air

As Pandalam is not having any main airport in the city so the visitors can come via nearest airport which is located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The name of the airport is Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (TRV). It is at a distance of 82 km. Another nearest airport at a distance of 96 km in Ernakulum, Kerala is the Kochi airport (COK).

By Rail

There are two nearest railway stations from Pandalam. One is in Chengannur (CNGR) in Kerala which is at distance of 14 km and another one is in Mavelikara (MVLK) in Kerala which is at a distance of 16 km. There are several trains which connect to these placess.

By Road

There is a well-connected bus station in Pandalam which is linked to various cities. Buses on regular basis run from various places to and fro from Pandalam. There is an availability of all kinds of buses including deluxe buses, AC buses etc.

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