THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Several national swimming champions, the first aquatic club in the state and a pilgrimage hotspot with the famous Sree Krishnaswamy Temple known for its huge pond sprawling across 1.5 acres. Pirappancode is known for all this and more.
So, what’s the story behind the name? Interestingly, it is believed that when a court was established, the first judge of that court was called ‘Parappan Ayyappan’. It gradually evolved into Pirappancode. But the question comes, to establish a court, there must be a group of people, and there must be contradictions. So, if already people lived there, how did they address the place? Historian and author Vellanadu Ramachandran has the answer.
“When we look at ancient inscriptions on copper plates from the 12th century, it explains how the land was transferred from the Travancore king Udaya Marthanda Varma to the custodians of the Sree Krishnaswamy Temple as a donation for the daily expenses. In the scriptures, it is said that a place ‘Pirapa Maan Kottu’ is transferred. ‘Pirapa’ means flat, ‘maan’ means soil and ‘kottu’ means land — flat soil land. This clearly defines the geographical nature of the land. Later ‘Pirapa Maan Kottu’ became Pirappancode,” he says.
The script also indicates that the Sree Krishnaswamy Temple had direct connections with the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, one of the wealthiest temples in the world. Located between Venjaramoodu and Vembayam, it is also home to several other temples such as Thennoor Devi Temple, Konathu Devi Temple, Kuthuparamba Sree Bhadrakali Temple and Vattakaavu Sree Bhadrakaali Temple.