Ambalapuzha Temple: Story of Lord Krishna & Payasam

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In India there are many temples whose reverence is based on its origin or an event but not many temples are known for the prasadam received. The Ambalapuzha Sreekrishna Temple from the time of its origin has been known for the sweet rice porridge which is received by all devotees daily as prasadam. The temple for years has been considered to be one among the most important Vaishnava temples in Kerala.


The temple is said to have been built in the 16th century by Pooradam Thirunal Devanarayanan Thampuran, the ruler of the erstwhile Chembakassery kingdom which was a small feudal authority around the backwaters. The King ruled over a large area of fertile land but there was always an agrarian crisis in his kingdom. The paddy crops would wither away just before harvest giving people only a limited amount of rice. The ruler was a staunch devotee of Lord Krishna & kept praying for his blessings. As per popular belief, Lord Krishna is said to have come to the court of the King disguised as a sage. The king welcomed the learned man into his house where he was playing chess with his minister. The King asked the sage what favour he could do, to this Lord Krishna demanded rice amounting to that of the chess board. Lord Krishna placed one grain on the first square, 2 on the second square, 4 on the third square, 16 on the fourth square, 256 on the fifth square & continued in this way. The granary started to get empty & by the sixtieth square the whole granary in his kingdom was exhausted. The king was embarrassed by the situation, Lord Krishna appeared before in his true self & asked him to pay off the debt by providing sweetened porridge daily to all. Lord Krishna also blessed the land with prosperity & promised so till the time the payasam was served. This event made the ruler build a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna & from the day payasam has been served uninterrupted till date daily to all the devotees who come to the temple.


Lord Krishna in the form of Parthasarathy is the presiding deity at the temple. The idol is in a standing form holding a whip in the right hand & divine conch in the left depicting the character in Mahabharata. The temple is a good example of traditional Kerala architecture & has a large pond. The temple is spread over a large area & has been a venue for some important events in history. It is said that Thunchathu Ezhuthachan wrote his most celebrated work, Adhyathmaka Ramayanam Kilipattu sitting in the Ambalapuzha temple. The temple is also the place where the first performance of Ottamthullal was conducted & the importance towards its creator Kunjan Nambiar is such that one can find a large Mizhavu in the temple said to be the one used by Kunchan himself. 


The Ambalapuzha temple has a unique relation with the most revered Guruvayoor Temple. Inside the temple one can find a shrine for Guruvayoorappan who is the presiding deity at Guruvayur. Tipu sultan & the Mysore army during their crusade along Malabar planned to destroy the Guruvayur temple & the priests of the temple fearing destruction are said to have fled with the divine idol. The priests came to the Ambalapuzha temple & reinstalled the idol here. It so happened that the pujas at the Ambalapuzha temple were dedicated to Guruvayoorapan after placing the idol here & it was only after many years that the idol was taken back to Guruvayoor. Even today it is believed that Lord Krishna from Guruvayur comes to Ambalapuzha to taste the naivedyam. The temple is also known for its festivals, the Chundanvallam boat race, one of the most important events where small decorated boats float around the water & the traditional art forms like thullal, krishnanattam are performed. 


The temple in many ways is a reflection of the story & payasam, its divinity is sweet & one that has only grown in years. Today Ambalapuzha temple is one among the most visited temples in South India & is part of the rich heritage of Kerala.

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