KOCHI: Ravipuram in Kochi is well-known for the 800-year-old Sree Krishnaswami Temple and the Cochin Shipyard, which recently basked in national glory with the launch of India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant.
The tranquil temple, too, has some interesting stories to tell. Built and owned by Pazhoor Mana in ancient times, the temple has been under the Cochin Devaswom Board since 1972. According to research by the late historian Alappat Sreedhara Menon, the temple had the honour of ‘hosting’ the deity of Guruvayur in the 18th century.
During Tipu Sultan’s marauding raids in Kerala, the idol of Guruvayurappan was hurriedly shifted to Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna temple.Due to heavy rain en route, the entourage had to stop in Ernakulam, and the idol was installed and worshipped at the Ravipuram temple for a day, Menon noted.
Now comes the question of how the name ‘Ravipuram’ came about. Most people in the locality have blank smiles as a reply. Some guide me to Ravipuram Pourasamidhi Temple Trustee T P Muralidharan, 72, who has been closely associated with the temple since his childhood.
“It is said that legendary Krishna devotee Vilwamangalam Swamiyaar named the place Ravipuram,” he says.“Once on his way to Ambalapuzha, he stopped at the temple. When he asked around, the natives said there was no specific name, and it was known as just a Sree Krishna temple. At that time, Swamiyaar saw the bright, rising sun in the temple’s backdrop, its rays illuminating the shrine. So he declared the place should be known as Ravipuram.”
Ravi in Sanskrit refers to the sun, and puram denotes a town or locality. “The actual name of this place is Perumanoor,” adds Muralidharan. “Even now, this place is mentioned in revenue records as Perumanoor.”
Perumaanoor has its roots in “Perumalkkanmaarude ooru (village/town)’, he explains. ‘Perumaalkkanmaar’ refers to the Perumal dynasty which ruled the place centuries ago. Ernakulam Karayogam secretary P Ramachandra (Venu) concurs, adding that the place was intially named Ravipuresham, or the abode of ‘Ravi’, the sun.
That eventually became Ravipuram.
Former Kochi mayor Soumini Jain, too, says the place has been known as Ravipuram due to the temple. “The deity of the temple is commonly known as Ravipurathappan (lord of Ravipuram),” she says.