Thrissur/Kottayam (Kerala) | Hymns, verses and songs about Lord Ram reverberated in temples, including the Triprayar Sree Ramaswamy temple in Thrissur district that was visited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, across the state on Monday on the occasion of Ram Temple consecration at Ayodhya.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and BJP leaders in the state visited various temples on the occasion.
Khan offered prayers at the Ramadevi Temple in Vazhuthacaud in the state capital while BJP state president K Surendran paid tribute at the Sree Ramaswamy Temple at Ramapuram in Kottayam district.
BJP's Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar offered prayers at Ganesh Mandir in Wayanad district along with NDA's state convener Tushar Vellapally.
Celebrations were held in temples connected with Ramayana across the southern state.
People turned up at the Triprayar temple early in the morning and performed various rituals and made offerings to Lord Ram there, the temple's melsanthi (head priest) told TV channels.
The Triprayar Sree Ramaswamy temple, situated on the bank of the Karuvannur river also known as the Theevra river, is dedicated to Lord Ram, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu, depicted with four arms holding a conch, a discus, a bow, and a garland.
The temple is renowned for the Nalambalam yatra -- a pilgrimage to the abodes of Lord Ram and his brothers Bharat, Lakshman, and Shatrughan -- and worshipping at all these temples on a single day in the Malayalam month of Karkidakam is considered auspicious, drawing many devotees.
'Meen oottu' (fish feeding) is one of the main and popular offerings at this temple.
The Sree Ramaswamy Temple at Ramapuram in Kottayam is also one of four temples in Kerala's southern Kottayam district where the deities are the four sons of King Dasaratha of Ramayana.
The Ramapuram Sree Ramaswamy Temple, Koodappulam Sree Lakshmanaswamy Temple, Amanakara Sree Bharathaswamy Temple and Methiri Sree Sathrughnaswamy Temple, together referred to as the 'Nalambalam' (four temples), are centered close to each in a three kilometer radius of Ramapuram in Kottayam.
Celebrations began in the morning, ahead of the pran-pratishtha in Ayodhya, at the Ernakulam Tirumala Devaswom Temple also where devotees hailing from various parts of the country and dressed up in colorful traditional attire danced to songs and verses of Lord Ram.
Singing of verses and songs of Lord Ram were also seen at the Thrikkalathoor Sreeramaswamy Temple in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district where a 'chatur bahu vigraham' (four-armed statute) of the deity is worshipped.
Similar scenes of celebrations were seen in temples across the state since morning.
