Temple History

The image of the Lord Dhanwanthari installed in this temple is one foot 7 and half inches in height and is of Krishna Sila (Black granite stone). The Lord wears a Veshti which has graceful folds and the central folds fall neatly between the legs which wears anklets and kankana. In the right upper hand the Lord Dhanwanthari holds Chakra (Wheel) and in the upper left hand holds Shankha (Counch). In the lower right hand a Leach is firmly held in between the index finger and the thumb and the other fingers stand upright showing the Abhaya pose. In the left lower hand the Lord holds a pot with nectar that is ‘Amrita’. The image stands on a circular inverted Lotus pedestal which is set upon a square peeta. The deity wears Bhuja Kireetas (on shoulders) and a well ornamented Kireeta Makuta (the crown) which is supremely graceful. The ears have ear ornaments, the Makara Kundala, and round the neck necklace is worn with a pendant. Armlets and bracelets adorn the hands. There is Udara Banda and the Kati Banda. The garbhagriha, the Sanctum Sanctorum of the temple is square in shape showing the Nagara style of Hindu temple architecture.

Belief has it amongst the devotees that the Lord comes to the rescue of the people suffering from physical illness when they call upon Him chanting His name filled with devotion to give them relief from illness. According to Puranic tradition Dhanwanthari came out while churning the ocean by Gods and Asuras together and is one of the Fourteen Ratnas said to have been produced with a cup of nectar in His hand. The nectar in the pot symbolizes medicine for curative purpose for physical illness and the Leach is held by the God to denote surgery as curative method when medicine fail to cure disease.

The ancestors of the present Vembrakat family of Gowda Saraswath Brahmin community at Palluruthy, where they settled down long ago, had built this temple for Lord Dhanwanthari with their gifted knowledge of Medicine and its practical application. From ancestors, the management of the temple came to the hands of Sri Madhava Prabhu, Diwan Peshkar and Chief Secretary of Cochin State and at present managed by Trustee who is also the eldest member of the family.

Gowda Saraswath Brahmins residing in Kerala are descendants of those Gowda Saraswaths who came over Kerala from Sasasti Pradesh of Goa when the Portuguese established their inquisition in Goa in 1560 AD. One of the families that came along with migrants for their settlement in Kerala belonged to Bhembre family of Goa. They are called by family surname ‘Prabhus’. They settled down in nearby village of Mattancherry called Palluruthy and named the place of their settlement as ‘Bhembrekad’ and installed the deity Betal at Palluruthy brought by them from Goa. Bhembre Prabhus were proficient in Ayurveda. They used to give Ayurvedic medicine to locally suffering people with illness and considered treating patients physically suffering, as service to God. In the line of descendants of Ayurvedic Physicians there was born one Babha Sharma Prabhu. He was a great devotee of Lord Dhanwanthari, the Physician of the Gods. While on asleep one day Lord Dhanwanthari appeared in the dream and told him that a shilpi would come over his place asking whether carving out of an image of Lord is necessary and that he would carve out of the granite stone the image of Dhanwanthari which he should install in a temple and do worship as the Lord had decided to come over to his place to bless and to give solace to the minds of those men suffering from physical illness. As said in the dream one shilpi appeared and as per the wish of Babha Sharma Prabhu, the shilpi carved out of the granite stone the image of Dhanwanthari and handed it over to Babha Sharma Prabhu for performing Prathishta. Babha Sharma Prabhu constructed a temple and Prathishta was performed and Poojas commenced.

In the line of descendants of Babha Sharma Prabhu one Sanna Prabhu was born who earned name as one of the foremost physicians in Ayurveda of his times. Raja of Cochin wanted Prabhu to cure a disease which he was suffering. Prabhu prayed the Lord to guide him to find out medicine for Raja’s illness. The Lord in the dream directed Prabhu that the oil which he used to prepare ‘Gari’ a type of Vada usually prepared by putting it in the heated oil, and offered as Nivedyam to the Lord, should be given to the Raja for application over his body and that by applying the oil he would get complete cure. As directed by the Lord the oil was given to the Raja and the Raja after applying the oil over his body got complete cure.

There are many instances to quote from the general public irrespective of caste and religion, getting disease cured by the offerings made by sick persons to the Lord and accepting Prasadam given by the priest after the pooja. There was one Raghavan Vaidyan residing nearby the temple who had deep faith in God, as per whom, after receiving Prasadam from the temple and treating the patients having chronic disease, he was able to get complete cure for such patients. Also there are many instances where childless women offering vazhipad called ‘Devak Deevap’ beget children. They give the newly born child as ‘Adima’ to God and get release from ‘Adima’ after performing Thulabharam, that is giving grains, rice, plaintains or other commodities to God equal to the weight of the child.