Thrissur
Vadakkekara Palace
Shakthan Thampuran Palace is situated in City of Thrissur in Kerala state, India. It is named as Vadakkekara Palace, was reconstructed in Kerala-Dutch style in 1795 by Ramavarma Thampuran[1] of the erstwhile Princely State of Cochin, well as Sakthan Thampuran (Greatest ruler of the Cochin dynasty) is preserved by Archaeological Department. The palace was converted into a museum in 2005 by State.
Sakthan Thampuran Palace once belonged to the Perumpadappu Swaroopam, the ruling dynasty of Kochi. This was the centre of power of King Rama Varma Sakthan Thampuran, who ruled Kochi between AD 1790 and 1805. His rule was regarded as the Golden Era of the Cochin dynasty. The palace is close to the Vadakkumnathan Temple in Thrissur. Saktan Thampuran is credited with the introduction of the Thrissur Pooram festival, an annual festival in May with teams representing the Parmekavu Bhagavathy temple and Tiruvambadi Krishna temple competing for primacy in front of the Vadakkumnathan temple with elephants, percussion, drums, fireworks, etc. The palace was once known as Vadakkechira Kovilakam and it was the king who renovated it into the present form. The palace keeps with it the historical remnants of some important events like the visit of Tipu Sultan with his army. The last member of the royal family to reside here was Rama Varma Bharathan Thampuran, a grand nephew of Chowwarayil Theepetta Veliyathampuran. The palace has a very old Sarpakavu (sacred serpent grove) in its premises.
Vadakkunnathan Temple
Vadakkumnathan Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva at city of Thrissur, of Kerala state in India. This temple is a classical example of the architectural style of Kerala and has one monumental tower on each of the four sides in addition to a kuttambalam. Mural paintings depicting various scenes from the Mahabharata can be seen inside the temple.[1][2][3] The shrines and the Kuttambalam display vignettes carved in wood. The temple, along with the mural paintings, has been declared as a National Monument by India under the AMASR Act.[4] According to popular local lore, this is the first temple built by Parasurama, the sixth avatara of Vishnu. Thekkinkadu Maidan, encircling the Vadakkunnathan Temple, is the main venue of the renowned Thrissur Pooram festival
Legends regarding the origins of the Vadakkumnathan Temple are briefly narrated in the Brahmanda Purana and these legends are referenced in some other works as well.[6] Though these accounts differ with respect to certain details, they are all in agreement regarding the central theme that the temple was founded by Parashurama. According to lore, Parashurama exterminated Kshatriyas in twenty-one cycles. In order to cleanse himself of the negative karma of these deeds he performed a yajna at the end of which he gave away all the land to Brahmins as dakshina. He wanted to retire to a new land to perform meditative penance (tapasya) and thus requested the Lord of the oceans Varuna to bring forth a new piece of land from the waters.
The famous Sri Mula Sthana where, for some time, the linga of Shiva remained. Later, the ruler of Kochi Kingdom decided to shift the linga to a more convenient place and enclose it in a good temple.
According to another version, some sages approached him at the end of the yajna and requested him to give them some secluded land. Parashurama then requested Varuna on their behalf. Varuna gave him a winnow (surpa) and asked him to hurl it into the sea; as he did so, a large area of land was brought from the sea; this region of land that arose from the sea become Kerala. It was then known by the name "Surparaka", from the word, "Surpa" meaning winnow.
According to some other accounts, Varuna asked Parashurama to hurl his axe into the sea. Parashurama now wanted to consecrate this new land. So he went to Mount Kailasa to his guru, Lord Shiva and requested him to take abode in Kerala and thereby bless the region. Shri Shiva accompanied by his wife Parvati, his sons Ganesha and Subrahmanya and his parashadas went along with Parashurama, to oblige his disciple. Shiva stopped at a spot, which is now Thrissur, for his seat. Later he and his party disappeared and Parashurama saw a bright and radiant Shiva lingam (non-anthropomorphic icon of Shiva) at the foot of a huge banyan tree. This place where Shiva manifested his presence as a lingam is known in Sanskrit as the Sri Moola Sthana.
backwaters
Chettuva Backwater or Lanchi Velayudhan's Chettuva is located in between Engandiyur Panchayat and Kadappuram Panchayat of Thrissur District in Kerala. The backwaters start at Enamakkal Lake and empties to Arabian Sea. The destination is blessed with mangroves, Chinese fishing nets, islands, migratory birds, estuary and a fort. The mangroves at Chettuva backwaters are famous around the world, it is also knows as Lanchi Velayudhan backwater, He have helped many to reach in Dubai in 90's with his boat.[1] In 2010, Government of Kerala has declared Chettuva as heritage village.
beach beauty
Snehatheeram Beach or Love Shore is beach in Thalikulam of Thrissur District in Kerala State of India. It lies on the coast of Arabian Sea and attracts domestic tourists in every season. The beach was selected as the best beach tourism destination by the Department of Tourism (Kerala) during the year 2010. The beach is maintained by the Department of Tourism (Kerala)
There is children's park located near to the beach with all facilities. The entry fee for park is Rs 10 for adult and Rs 5 for children. An aquarium with large collection of marine species, a well maintained garden and tiled walkway attract tourists to this beach. A restaurant named Naalukettu is also available for tourists for enjoying coastal Thrissur sea food.
