An integral part of the temple town of Thrissur, the Sree Seetharamaswamy Temple, Pushpagiri, established on 11-06-1899, is situated 6 degrees Northwest of the mighty Vadakkunnathan Temple. The Seetharamaswamy Temple, Pushpagiri enshrines Lord Seetharaman within the ‘Srikovil’ that boasts a stunning ‘Gajaprashta’ spire that is not commonly seen in Kerala temple architecture. Apart from Sita Rama enshrined in the main sanctum facing west, Hanuman, Lakshmana, Ganapati, Sri Parvati, Shiva, and Subrahmanya, are also enshrined in the temple, and now the Navagraha and Dharmashasta are separately enshrined within the premises. There is also a Shiva temple a little away from the sanctum sanctorum but within this temple's premises. The eminence of various prestigious temples in the town of Thrissur is a direct reflection of the spiritual evolution of its inhabitants.
The temple is now managed by the Temple Managing Committee consisting of Sri. T.S. Kalyanaraman, Sri. T.A. Balaraman, Sri. T.R. Rajagopalan (Sr. Advocate), Sr. T.S. Ramakrishnan (Executive Trustee).
The Seetharamaswamy Temple also has its own ‘Kalyana Mandapa’- an air-conditioned wedding hall that can seat up to 500 people at a time complete with a dining hall. The Mandapa also has 10 AC rooms attached.
An ardent devotee of Vadakkunnathan, T.R. Ramachandra Iyer would pay his respects to the Lord at the Vadakkunnathan temple every day, especially to attend the final darshan called 'Thrippuka'. He would often be found spending extra time at the Sri Ram Mandapa, offering his prayers and chanting his slokas. It was during this time that Sri T.R. Ramachandra Iyer was inspired to chant the Ramayana. The daily prayer to Lord Ram and his everyday practice of chanting the Ramayana, brought about immense devotion towards Rama in his heart, making him a fervent devotee of Lord Ram. This evolution in his spiritual being brought about the desire to build a temple dedicated to Lord Ram and Goddess Sita within this neighbourhood. Sri T.R. Ramachandra Iyer then went on to seek permission and blessings from the Rama Mandapa at Vadakkunnathan. In response, it is believed that Lord Rama walked away with him that day, in turn giving him his blessings to make his desires come true.
The Seetharamaswamy Temple, Pushpagiri was established in the Malayalam month of ‘Edavam’ on the ‘Punartham’ star, dedicated to Lord Seetharaman, who is the ‘Prathishta’ at the centre of this holy temple. The Ram & Sita idols have been carved to perfection from ‘Anjanashila’ (a soft stone granite – very rarely found) by specially trained craftsmen from Tirunelveli, where Sita Devi sits to the left of Lord Rama.
Sri Ramanavami is a ten-day festival celebrated at the temple every year. Apart from that, the Seetharamaswamy Temple also hosts a multitude of festivities and functions like Vasantholsavam, Navaratri, Visheshal Puja, Veda Chanting and more. Furthermore, the temple also conducts Visheshal Puja for Sri Rama on Ekadashi, for Ganapati on Chathurthi, for Lord Subrahmanyan on Shashti and for Parvati and Shiva on ‘Pradosham’ days. For the occasion of ‘Thaipooyam’, the temple conducts 11 days of ‘Rudrabhishekam’ and a procession on ‘Mayilvahanam’. Another important festival celebrated is the ‘Prathishta Dinam’ - day of dedication - on the ‘Punardham’ star every year of the ‘Edavam’ month of the Malayalam calendar.
Although there are numerous offerings at the Seetharama Temple every day, the ‘Kalabhabhishekam’ holds the highest prominence. A multitude of devotees offer the ‘Kalabhabhishekam’ to the Lord to be blessed with offspring, wealth, and fulfilment of other desires. Even the ‘vada-mala’ offering to Lord Hanuman is very famous!
The Seetharamaswamy Temple has ‘Thazhika Kudam’ for Lord Rama as well as Lord Siva. In 2010, during the ‘Kumbhabhishekam’ - the ‘Dwajasthambham’ was covered in pure gold. The Seetharamaswamy Temple, Pushpagiri is the only one in Kerala to have a pure gold chariot. Now, the frontier of the ‘Sreekovils’ of Lord Rama, Lord Siva and Lord Ayyappa are also set to be covered in pure gold.
Now, the Seetharamaswamy Temple, Pushpagiri also boasts the tallest Hanuman Statue situated in front of the temple, facing the Pushpagiri Agraharam. This classical masterpiece is carved from a single stone and the Hanuman statue is 55 feet tall. The temple now hosts a mesmerising light and sound show every Sunday for the devotees wherein the entire Ramayana tale is depicted via the laser show with a background score of the Hanuman Chalisa. The entire show is set to run for ten minutes.
It was a renowned Madras High Court Judge - Brahmasri Diwan Bahadur T.R. Ramachandra Iyer who led the process of building, designing, and dedicating the Seetharamaswamy Temple to Lord Seetharaman. He was a resident of Naikkanal, Thrissur, and would often enjoy taking strolls around the Thrissur Round, in the company of his colleagues, to visit new places. On one of his such strolls, he came across the area known as Pushpagiri by chance. Back then, Pushpagiri was an abandoned land infested with weeds and plants, where there was little human activity. T.R. Ramachandra Iyer then decided to clean up this area, level it and build his desired temple along with a neighbouring ‘gramam’ or village that would later go on to become the Pushpagiri Gramam where Thrissur Brahmins reside today. He went on to establish the temple, a school, a mill, the gramam and also a house for himself on this land.
'May the blessings of Lord Seetharaman be upon all the devotees who visit the Seetharamaswamy Temple at Pushpagiri and may all the desires prayed for, be materialised and fulfilled.'