Lakshmana Perumal Temple

Lord Perumal presides in this temple facing east holding a discus and conch in his upper two hands, a club in the right lower hand and a lotus in the left that rests on his hip. Sage Haridha Maharshi is said to have worshipped Lord Perumal in this shrine. There is a separate shrine for Lord Shiva signifying a harmony among Saivite and Vaishanavite faiths. It is believed that Lord Krishna used to perform worship in Dwaraka to four idols namely that of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrugana. When Dwaraka was submerged in a deluge, Sage Vakelwa got these idols. The Lord appeared in the sage's dream and instructed the Rishi to install the idols in different spots along the banks of the river Bharatapuzha. In this manner, Rama was installed in Tiruparayar in Trissur district, Bharata in Irugnalakuda, Satrugna in Payamal and Lakshmana in Tirumoozhikalam. This is the only Vaishnava temple named after Lakshmana. As per another legend, Haridha Maharshi performed penance to Lord Vishnu here. Consequently, Lord appeared and granted him one wish. The sage requested the Lord for an easy way by which people could reach him. The Lord replied saying everyone should practice their respective trades as prescribed by Varnasrama Dharmas and gave the sage the Sri Sukthi text that explained all the pooja rules. This event gave rise to the name Tirumozhikalam (meaning a place of sacred, soft and auspicious words) which later became Tirumoozhikalam. Saint Nammazhwar is said to have sung a song addressing a crane asking it to take a message from him to the Lord. The shrine has the reputation of the Mangalasasanam of Nammazhwar and Tirumangai Azhwar.