Janardanaswamy Temple, Varkala

The Janardanaswamy Temple, also called the Varkala Temple, stands in Janardanapuram in Varkala, Thiruvananthapuram district. It is dedicated to Vishnu as Janardana, known locally as Varkaleswara, and is counted among the 108 Abhimana Kshethrams; tradition says Balarama visited on his pilgrimage south. One legend tells how the sage Narada threw down his bark garment, the valkala, to show where repentant beings should do penance, and the spot became Varkala.

The temple sits on a tableland by the sea, reached by a long flight of steps. Hanuman and Garuda flank the entrance to the inner shrine, where the four-armed Janardana stands facing east with Sridevi and Bhudevi; his right hand is raised towards his mouth, and legend says the world will end when it gets there. Shiva, Ganesha, Sastha and the serpent deities have smaller shrines. Pilgrims believe that worship here and a bath at Papanasam beach wash away sins, and Varkala is considered a place for ancestral rites, hence its name Dakshina Kashi.