Tirunavaya Thirunavaya | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Navamukunda Temple, Tirunavaya | |
  Tirunavaya Location in Kerala, India | |
| Coordinates:11°00′04″N75°59′28″E / 11.0010°N 75.9911°E /11.0010; 75.9911 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Kerala |
| District | Malappuram |
| Vehicle registration | KL55 |
| Nearest Municipality | Tirur |
| Website | village.kerala.gov.in |
Tirunavaya, also spelled asThirunavaya, is a town in TirurMalappuram,Kerala. Situated on the northern bank ofBharatappuzha (River Ponnani/Nila or Perar), it is one of the majorHindu pilgrimage centres in Kerala.[1] Tirunavaya, home toTirunavaya Temple (Navamukunda/Vishnu Temple) and temples ofSiva andBrahma (Cherutirunavaya Brahma Temple and Siva Temple/Tirunavaya Mahadeva Temple), is one of the most prominent places for bali tarpana on Karkitaka vavu in Kerala.[1]
Tirunavaya seems to be a very sacred place for theHindus ofKerala from time immemorial.Bharathappuzha at Tirunavaya is considered to assume a special sanctity, because it flows between the temple ofVishnu (Navamukunda) on its right bank and the temple ofBrahma andSiva on its left. The village, situated on the fertile river basin, must have been one of the most prominent Brahmin settlement in Kerala.[2] Tirunavaya also hosted theMamankam, a type of medieval temple festival with huge political significance, in every 12 years.[3]
The Navamukunda Temple is considered one of the 108 original tirupatis (divyadesa) of theVaishnavaalvars.[3] The pitrkarma/pitrkriyas performed at Tirunavaya, a trimūrti sangama, are considered as very sacred. On Karkitaka vavu (amavasi), Hindus from different part of northern Kerala travel to the temple, to perform the Pitrkriya (bali tarpana) seekingmoksha for their ancestors. According to media, more than 50,000 devotees performed vavu bali at Navamukunda Temple in 2015.[4] Bali rites are also performed at Tirunavaya on the vavu days of Tulam and Kumbham.[5]
Tirunavaya Census Town, geographical area: 11.01 km2 (4.25 sq mi), has a population of 24,790 (2011). The Muslims compose 77.41% of the total number, while Hindus form of 18.30% of the total population.Schedule Caste (SC) constitutes 6.17% whileSchedule Tribe (ST) were 0.63% of total population in Tirunavaya CT.[6]
Yearly average rainfall of the census town is 2,769 mm (109.0 in). Maximum temperature here reaches up to 32 °C (90 °F) and minimum temperature goes down to 25 °C (77 °F).
Mamankam festival was held once every 12 years at Tirunavaya, Kerala on the banks of the river Bharathappuzha
