Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. In anticipation of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Prabhu Ramlalla in Ayodhya, the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram is set to gift ‘Onavillu,’ a traditional ceremonial bow, in a function. This is part of the activities leading up to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony on January 22.
Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, with its references in the Epics and Puranas, holds a sacred place in Hindu tradition. According to the Srimad Bhagvat, Lord Balaram visited the temple, bathed in Padmatheertham, and made numerous offerings. The 9th century poet Nammalwar, one of the 12 Vaishnavite saints of the Alvar tradition, composed ten hymns praising prabhu Padmanabha.
Devotees have been granted permission to view the ‘Onavillu’ from Thursday morning. The handing over ceremony of the ‘Onavillu’ to the representatives of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra is scheduled for 5:30 pm the same day and will be presided over by Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Head Priest (tantri) Tharanallur Satheesan Namboodiripad, along with Managing Committee members Avittam Thirunal Adithya Varma, Tulasi Bhaskaran, and Executive Officer B Mahesh.
The ‘Onavillu,’ a bow-shaped wooden panel adorned with paintings on both sides, is considered sacred by devotees. The artwork on the ‘villu’ depicts themes such as ‘Ananthasayanam’ (the mythical serpent Aanantha), ‘Dashavataram’ (incarnations of Lord Vishnu), and ‘Sreerama Pattabhishekam’ (anointing of Lord Rama as King), among others.
