108 Vishnu Temples

The 108 vishnu temples also known as Divyadesam are regarded Vishnava Hindus as being of special temples. These Divyadesam were praised by 12 Alvars, devotees of Lord Vishnu. Among these Divya Desams 84 Divya Desams are in Tamilnadu, 11 are in Kerala, 2 are in Andhra Pradesh, 7 are in North India, 1 is in Nepal and 1 is in Gujarat. The remaining two are believed to exist in the spiritual realm. They are the Tirupparkadal or Ksheera Sagaram (ocean of milk) and the Thiruparamapadham (Vaikuntam). Vaishnava Hindus, especially in South India, hope to visit the 106 divya desams that are in the Indian subcontinent, and hopefully reach god's feet in the rest 2 of the 108 divya desams, namely Thirupparkadal and Thiruparamapadham (at God's holy feet).

13 vishnu temples are in kerala among 108 divya desam. They are 13 temples - Thirupatisaram, Thiruvattar, Thiruvananthapuram, Thiruvalla, Thiruvaranmula, Thrichitat, Thiruvanvandoor, Thiruppuliyoor, Thrikkodithanam, Thrikkakara, Thirumoozhikkalam, Thirumittakkode and Thirunavaya. The rabidly fanatic Tipu Sultan destroyed more than two thousand temples in the Malabar and Cochin region of Kerala to establish Islam. Thirunavaya, Thirumittakkode, Thirumoozhikkalam and Thrikkakara Divya Desams were destroyed as a result of Tipu Sultan's military operations. They were reconstructed by the kings of Calicut and Cochin after the defeat of Tipu Sultan in Sreerangapatanam and the Treaty of 1792 A.D.

Thrichitat, Thiruppuliyoor, Thiruvaranmula, Thiruvanvandoor and Thrikkodithanam temples were collectively called Pancha Pandava Temples and are believed to have been built by Dharmaputra, Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva respectively. It is believed that worship at all these five temples on the same day is especially meritorious.