Trichambaram Sreekrishna Temple

Trichambaram Sreekrishna Temple is situated at Thaliparamba in Kannur district of north Malabar. It is 21 km from Kannur. This temple is called the North Guruvayur. Main deity is Sreekrishna in child form. He is in a 'raudra roopa(ferocious form) after the slaughter of his uncle Kamsa(,Kamsavadha)the demon king.The name of the temple is related to great sage Sambaramuni the great devotee of Krishna.The place where thw temple is located was a big forest filled with medicinal plants.It is said that Sambaramuni meditated Krishna and  got oneness with God.

Trichambaram temple

Origin         

Great sage Parasurama one of the incarnations of Vishnu, while visiting the temples installed by him,reached the Jaladurga Temple in Sambaravanam. Sambaramuni was worshipping the 'Jaladurga' which is in the middle of a tank.He told .Parasuram that he was waiting for the arrival of  the brothers Sreekrishna and Balabhadra.  Hearing the news Parasurama also  waited for their arrival.Krishna,has promised to his parents Devaki and Vasudeva that their wish to see their childhood plays will be fulfilled in Sambaravana Vasudeva,Rohini,Yasoda and Nandagopa were also eagerly waiting for the brothers arrival.As soon as they reached Vasudeva and Nandagopa hold the two children on their shoulders and started to dance.

After the dance Parasurama requested Sreekrishna and Balabhadra to come every year and provide 

 'Moksha'  to every one. Sreekrishna agreed and disappeared.Then Parasurama built a temple there and installed a Krishna after the Kamsavadha and suggested the poojas.

Deity And Peculiar Customs

Main deity is Sreekrishna and the idol is made of 'Panchaloha'.Upadevas of the temple are Viswaksena and Ayyappa.One of the main customs of the temple is the offering of Nivedya(food) soon after the opening of the shrine for daily rituals.This is because Krishna is supposed to be very hungry after the Kamsavada.Prohibition of elephants in the temple is another custom.There is a story behind this. A royal elephant Kuvalayapeeda stood an obstacle to Sreekrishna and Balabhadra while entering the palace of Kamsa.Krishna eas raged with anger and slaughtered the elephant.Since then due to the hatred of Krishna to elephants no one dares taking an elephant in and around the temple.

The 'Aayirappam' made by Antharjanas(Brahmin women) is another peculiarity of the temple.Aayirappam is one of the favourites of Krishna.Women are not allowed to enter the temple during festival.There is an Ilanji Tree (mimisops elengi) which bears no fruit. Sage Athrri, a worshipper of Vishnu used to sit in meditation under the tree. His body was full of sores and the extreme pain caused to him by the falling of the fruits of the tree made him curse the tree that it will bear no fruit. Since then the tree does not bear fruit. It has leaves and flowers only.

Krisha

Temple Festival

Fortnight long festival(Utsav) begins with the hoisting of flag(Kodiyettam) on Kunbham 22(March 6) and ends on Meenam 6(March 20(.A procession comes from the Dharmikulangara Temple of Balabhadra which is about 5 km from Trichambaram. In this procession a 'Thidambu' of the idol Balabhadra is carried by a priest on his head and is accompanied by musical instruments and people calling out "govinda govinda".Utsava is in the form of thidambu nritha and is performed from 'Pookothunada'.Thidambunritha is an art form related to temple festivals of North Malabar.The Nampoodiri  priests(Brahmins) dance  with the replica of the deity.The replica of the deity is decorated with leaves and flowers and the performers also wears a striking costume. They wears a necklace,bangles,earrings and a decorated turban. They dance to the rythm of the musical instruments.During the Trichambara temple festival the priests hold the replica of Sreekrishna and Balabhadra and dance for a long time from Pookothnada.It looks as if Krishna  and Balabhadra are playing in their childhood.On the last day of the Utsav while dancing when the Palamrutha(person who carries milk) enteres Krishna goes after him and the idol of Balabhadra is taken to Dharmikulangara temple.This event is called 'Koodippiriyal' which the worshippers watch with tearful eyes.