Pundareekapuram Temple

Stop a Small hill called Midayikunnam Pundareekapuram is a little temple atop a small hill called Midayikunnam close to Thalayolapparambu, in Kottayam District. The temple is dedicated to the Lord Vishnu mounted on his vehicle Garuda.

The temple at Pundareekapuram is well-known for its Mural set. Considered to be between the best in Kerala, the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is bedecked with the murals depicting scenes from the Hindu epics and puranas. The Mural Paintings depict the frolics of Krishna and other scenes from Hindu epics.

There’s a fine picture of Siva and Parvathi sitting beneath the Kalpavriksha; a powerful picture of Durga vanquishing the buffalo-headed demon Mahisha, the pranks of Krishna the divine boy of Ambadi; a picture of a Yakshi the dangerous seductress of legends; Rama Pattabhishekham or the coronation of Sri Rama; Siva Thandava and a picture of Sastha astride a horse to point out a few of the striking paintings at Pundareekapuram.

Since the temple is tucked away in off rarely trodden village road, these paintings have for long remained relatively obscure. But these murals, no doubt can hold their own against the better known wall-paintings of Padmanabhapuram and Mattancheri Palaces. In all probability these murals were painted during the later half of the 18th century.