Temples of Tiruvanantapuram District (Census of India Special Studies - Kerala)

From the Preface: The present monograph, Temples of Tiruvanantapuram District, has also three sections, of which Section 1 gives a general background on geographical-setting of the district based on physio-geographic regions, history, people and analysis of data collected during the field work. Section 2 deals with salient features of  127 important temples of the district, which include all those temples having swayambhoo (self-revealed) idols as principal deity and other important temples based on antiquity, number of prakaras, architectural excellence, number of poojas and number of worshippers. This does not mean that other temples are insignificant but the selection was done based on above mentioned parameters. Section 3 - Temple directory provides data of all temples open to public, big or small, as existed at the close of the twentieth century. Therefore, subsequent changes on structures, idols etc. have not been incorporated in this monograph except in few cases where revisits were done while writing the monograph. However, it is significant to mention the limitations of the data. Generally the informants of temples, mainly temple authorities and local devotees, were very co-operative with the field-staff in giving data. With the whole-hearted co-operation of all, the author could finalize the monograph of the district.