Elappully
Overview
Navaneetha Krishnan in a standing pose with balls of butter in both hands. The metaphor is - Butter symbolizes the result of spiritual practice. It does not appear by itself; we must churn curds to obtain it. Likewise, the heart must be churned with devotion to extract the essence of divine love, much like butter overflowing from a pot of curds. This outcome of spiritual practice is what Krishna cherishes. Thus, as Makhan Chor or Butter Thief, he steals the butter of pure, selfless, and sublime devotion from the hearts of his devotees. If you see the hand of Udupi Krishna, he will have a churner (called Mathu in Tamil). It is symbolic as explained above.
Location
Location: The Elappully village is located about 15 Kms from the Palakkad railway station on the Palakkad Pollachi road.
Address: QP2V+7MW, Elappully Thara, Elappully, Kerala 678622
Temple Timings:
6.00AM TO 9.30AM
5.30PM TO 7.30PM
History
Elappully is 12 Kms away from Palakkad town. Initially there were one hundred Iyer houses, which has reduced to 30 at present. All the families of this village trace their origin to Ganapathy agraharam near Kumbakonam. The old timers remember of a fire, which ravaged the village. The village has two temples - the main temple is that of Navaneetha Krishnan and the other important temple is that of Bala Parameshwari established by Koti Sastrigal. Among the eminent persons of the village were great Vedic scholar Sri E. P. Subrahmanya Iyer who translated Soundarya Lahari into Malayalam, another great Vedic scholar Sri Ramakrishna Sastrigal, the industrialist Sri E. K. Narayana Iyer, the educational expert N. Subrahmanyam who worked with Annie Beasant, the Mridanga maestros Sri E.M.Panchapakesan and Elapully Krishna Iyer, Ghatam maestro Sri E. N. Balakrishnan. Vaikunta Ekadasi is celebrated for five days in a grand scale in this village. On the Ekadasi day is Ratholsavam.
Deities
Primary deity: Sri Navaneetha Gopalakrishna Swamy
Other deities: Sri Bala Parameshwari
Separate temples for : Sastra attached to Varunapureshwara temple, Elapully. This is due to astrological reasons - distance of 1 Km from the main agraharam
Videos
Photo Gallery
Utsavams
Ratholsavam-5days - Carfestival on vaikunta-ekadashi
Sasthapreethi after ratholsavam
Pratishtadhinam
Janmashtami
Navaratri vilakku
On Thiruvonam every month and Thursdays special poojas are performed.
Every Rohini star day ANNADANAM Is also performed
Vahanas
Garuda Vahanam
Adimakkavu
MANAPULLI KAVU
For the Shastrigal family who were the founders of Elappully gramam, adimakavu is Santhi Durgaparameswari temple in the gramam
Other Agraharam Information
Total homes in the Agraharam: 35
Number and % of Brahmin homes: 35 - 100%
Number and % of homes retaining traditional look: 70%
Does the village have a brahmana samooham: Yes there is a samooham
Does the village temple have a temple car (theru): Yes one Ther (temple car) and one Palakku
When was the last ashtabandhana kumbabhishekam done: February 2, 2022
Contact Information
Mr. VIJAYARAGHAVAN 9846397895
Mr. E.SNARAYANAN 9446238623
Mr. E.V.NGOPALAKRISHNAN 9539511255
Well Known Elders from the Agraharam
Koti Sastrigal
Vedic scholar Sri E. P. Subrahmanya Iyer who translated Soundarya Lahari into Malayalam
Vedic scholar Sri Ramakrishna Sastrigal
Industrialist Sri E. K. Narayana Iyer
Educational expert N. Subrahmanyam who worked with Annie Beasant
Mridanga maestros Sri E.M.Panchapakesan and Elapully Krishna Iyer
Ghatam maestro Sri E. N. Balakrishnan.
Food and Catering
K.V.Ramanarayanan (appu)
Navaneetha Gopalakrishnan (a.v house)
Other nearby eating places: Venkatesa Bhavan, Para, Elappully
Hall for functions and Lodging
Places to stay near the agraharam: - nil - nearest is Chandranagar or Kanjikode
Bank Accounts for sending Kanikkai, donation or vazhipadu
A/c name:
ELAPULLY GRAMA JANA SAMOOHAM TRUST
A/c no:36192078389
IFSC:SBIN0018677
State Bank of India
Elappully Branch
Palakkad -678622
Author's Notes
Elappully Agraharam - 100 Agraharams Project
The migration of the Brahmins from Tamilnadu to Palakkad and other places during the 1300's coincides with the Delhi Sultante's conquest of Dwarasamudra and their further foray into the Pandya Kingdom. The chaos that ensued pushed waves of Brahmin migrants via Palakkad pass into various settlements. It could also be that better fortunes were to be made in this land west of the Ghats.
My home is just behind Chokkanathapuram and I read that the folks migrating from Madurai settled there and thus the name. Vaiteeswaran Koil folks established Vaidyanathapuram etc.
Elappully folks came from Ganapathy Agraharam, I have spent time sitting there on the banks of Cauvery and admiring the lush fields of the Thanjavur district.
It seems there were atleast a hundred homes in the agraharam and after a devastating fire and also after the Land reforms that of 1970, went down to around 35 homes which survive today.
I like simple agrahrams like Elappully with dead ends terminating at the temple, so that the scourge of traffic and thoroughfare do not trouble the residents.
The primary deity in the temple Navaneetha Krishnan. Let me reproduce here the details about the agrahram in the KeralaIyers site: "Elappully is home to two temples: the main temple dedicated to Navaneetha Krishnan and another significant temple dedicated to Bala Parameshwari, established by Koti Sastrigal. Notable individuals from the village include the esteemed Vedic scholar Sri E. P. Subrahmanya Iyer, who translated Soundarya Lahari into Malayalam, another renowned Vedic scholar Sri Ramakrishna Sastrigal, industrialist Sri E. K. Narayana Iyer, educational expert N. Subrahmanyam who collaborated with Annie Besant, and the Mridanga maestros Sri E.M. Panchapakesan and Elapully Krishna Iyer, as well as Ghatam maestro Sri E. N. Balakrishnan. The village celebrates Vaikunta Ekadasi with a grand five-day festival, culminating in Ratholsavam on the Ekadasi day."
Radhe Krishna
Sriram(Hari), 100-Agraharams Project
Rama Bhagavathar Charitable Trust
July 3, 2024