King Marthanda Varma dedicated his kingdom to the deity, and pledged that he and his descendants would serve the kingdom as Padmanabha Dasa, meaning “servants of the Lord Padmanabha”. He came before the Deity along with family and ministers and put his crown at the lotus feet of Lord Ananta Padmanabha. King then made official legal document saying that the deed for the entire state of Travancore is the property of Sri Ananta Padmanabha as long as the sun and moon last. And my family are simply the trustee servants of Sri Ananta Padmanabha. With this, Sri Padmanabha became the nominal head of the state of Travancore, assuming the title Perumal, the Emperor. And because he put that in the legal document even the British had to honour that Lord Vishnu is the king. It stood on court on many occasions but was indisputable. The British government saluted the Lord Sri Padmanabhaswamy with a 21-gun salute, a military tradition of colonial days, which was continued by the Indian Army as a mark of honor and respect to Lord Sri Padmanabhaswamy until the abolition of the privy purses by government of India with Mrs. Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister. In the past there were many great kings who were highly spiritually advanced and were leading the kingdom to enlightenment. One such dynasty was the Chera dynasty. The kings would get the title of Padmanabha Das. The royal insignia of the Lord, Valampiri Shankhu or dextral conch-shell, served as the state emblem of Travancore and even continued so for some time after the re-organization of the states. Sri Padmanabha is still regarded as regional deity of Travancore.

Morning

03:30 am to 04:45 am (Nirmalya Darshanam)
06:30 am to 07:00 am
08:30 am to 10:00 am
10:30 am to 11:10 am
11:45 am to 12:00 noon

Evening
05:00 pm to 06:15 pm
06:45 pm to 07:20 pm

The above-indicated time schedule is subject to changes during festivals and other special occasions. During the festival occasions the darshan time is reduced in order to performing the special poojas.

At 12 noon free Annadanam Maha-Prasadam of Sri Ananta Padmanabha Swamy is served inside the temple at prasadam hall for all the visiting pilgrims.

Sri Ananta Padmanabha swamy temple celebrates bi-annual festivals in the months of Thulam (Alppasi) and Meenam (Painkuni). A function is conducted for according formal sanction to conduct the Utsavam (festival). The Alppashi festival which is in October/November and the Painkuni festival which is in March/April, lasts for 10 days each. These festivals culminate with the Aarat (holy bath) procession to the Shankumugham beach. The word Aarat refers to the purificatory immersion of the deities of the temple in sea. This event takes place in the evening. The King of Travancore escorts the Aarat procession by foot. The festival starts with Kodiyettu (flag hoisting) at Sri Padmanabhaswamy’s gold and Sri Krishnaswamy’s silver flag poles. The festival is of ten days duration culminating in the spectacular Palliveta and Aarat processions on the 9th and 10th days respectively. Special Sreebalies (processions) are conducted twice a day, in the evening 4.30 pm and at night 8.30 pm.

The Deities of Sri Padmanabhaswamy, Lord Sri Krishna and Lord Nrsimhadeva are carried in the Aarat procession. The Aarat procession slowly proceeds with pomp and pageantry, colour and music, men carrying divine emblems and insignias of royalty. The procession reaches the Sanghumugham beach and the Vahanams are positioned in the Aarat Mandapam. Deities are given the holy immersion in the sea after the prescribed poojas. After this ceremony, the Deities are taken back to the temple as a procession in the light of traditional torches, marking the conclusion of the festival. Once during the reign of King Marthanda Varma, an elephant ran amock. Since then, the practice of using elephants to carry the Deities in the procession was given up and Vahanas (vehicles) carried on the shoulder by a number of priests came into vogue. Six different kinds of beautiful conveyances are used for these processions. They are the Simhasana Vahanam (Throne), Anantha Vahanam (Serpant), Kamala Vahanam (Lotus), Pallakku Vahanam (Palanquin), Garuda Vahanam (Garuda) and Indra Vahanam (Gopuram). Of these the Pallakku and Garuda Vahanas are repeated twice and four times respectively. The Garuda Vahanam is considered as the favourite conveyance of the Lord.

•  On 10th January,1563 it was reported that milk started flowing from the cracks of the altar wall. This happened three times that year thus instilling the fact that Lord Sri Ananta Padmanabha Swamy is resting on the milk ocean. In 1628, this incident about milk was again observed, this time from northern side of Rama temple opposite to main altar. To stop this flow, cracks in this small shrine was sealed. If one is fortunate than one can see these sealed spots with a close look.
•  Even today for a few fortunate at a particular location on the back side of the altar wall near the lotus feet of Lord, one can hear the mild sound of sea waves.
•  In 1818, the Deity of the Lord in sleeping pose moved and pujaris could feel the tremor in the altar.
•  In 1865, at midnight one day a massive sound of a lion was heard inside the main temple. Even today after closing the temple gates the temple guards relate the same experience happening, thus indicating the wonderful pastime of Lord Nrsimhadeva in the temple.