The story goes that after the departure of Lord Ayyappa to Sabarimala the king Rajasekhara was overcome by grief. On his return from Sabarimala where he had constructed a shrine for the just vanished Lord, the king
as, advised by Ayyappa built a small temple modeled on the Sabarimala shrine close to his palace for daily worship. The Lord will be adorned with the Sacred ornaments
'Thiruvabharanam' on two occasions every year: the Vishu and Ayyappa's birthday ('Uthram' in the month of Kumbham). Legends has it that this ritual is done so that the women members of the Royal family can see the Lord in his divine splendor with the jewels adorned since they cannot visit Sabarimala.
Having functioned as a private place for worship for the members of the Royal family for long, the temple differs from other
temples in many aspects. The temple is now being administered by the Travancore Devaswom Board.
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Valiya koikkal Temple
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