The Temple & the deity

The original Deity made of Iluppa wood was replaced with a new one in the year 1729 AD because a mystical fire in the temple damaged the original Deity. The new Deity (as per the revelation in the priest’s dream) is made up of 12,008 Saligrams. They are special because they are from Nepal, from the banks of river Gandhaki and they were brought to the temple with all pomp and gaiety on elephant top. On top of them “katu sharkara yogam“, a special ayurvedic mix, was used to give a plaster. The consecration was conducted by Tanthri (chief priest) Tarananallur Padmanabharu Parameswararu in year 1739. Given the huge size of Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy, one is able to have the full darshan of the Lord from three different openings- Head from the southern side, the body from middle door and the legs from a third entrance. The Eighteen feet long Deity of Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy is covered with gold and invaluable precious stones and the Anantha is covered with silver plates. Since the Deity was made of Katu Sharkara Yogam, no abhishekham is carried out on this 18 feet long deity. Hence the thick smoke from camphor, lamps and agarbathis over the centuries gave a black color to the Deity. The temple faces east and surrounded by massive fort walls. The area covered by its enclosures is about 7 acres. The temple has a seven-tier gopuram.

Sri Ananta Padmanabha Swamy Temple