World through the aperture: August 2012

Ulloor Subramanian Swamy temple is a very famous temple of Trivandrum located at Ulloor and dedicated to Lord Murugan whose more famous abode is the Palani Hills Temple. On this day of Onam'12 i decided to visit this temple for the first time . Initially i lost my way through the maze of Ulloor Gardens Residential Colony but finally with the help of kind hearted samaritan i was directed to the temple and reached the temple pond from where i reached the main entrance through the side road. .

This temple is a breathtakingly beautiful and ancient one . It has a large floor space with a huge and well maintained pond . There is the main temple which is built of wood with a sanctum sanctorum dedicated to Lord Murugan and secondary shrines surrounding the main temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, Bhramarakshas , Navagraha , Lord Ganesha and Navagrahas .

Exquisite wood panels attest to the cultural and religious heritage of the site

Temple is an example of traditional Kerala temple architecture

The sanctum sanctorum of the main temple is constructed following the circular design- kerala architecture while the shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva follows the rectangular Chola /Pandya design . There is a very tall bronze flag post used for ceremonial flag hoisting purposes during festivals . There is also a rather handsome peacock who graciously displayed his magnificent plumage and posed for several snaps when i chanced by his enclosure.

Shrine to Lord Shiva which has been constructed in the typical Chola/Pandyan Style

Bronze "kodimaram" Flag post

The temple though located only a stone's throw away from the NH-47 retains the serenity and idyllic charm of village shrine .

Gateway to the temple on the eastern side which has a two floor gate house

Though the heavy traffic and bad roads from kowdiar to ulloor are a con still the spiritual vibrations that i felt at the place calls me back to visit it again and again .