Thiruvanvandoor Mahavishnu Temple

The Thiruvanvandoor Mahavishnu Temple in Alappuzha district, near Chengannur, is a Kerala-style Vishnu temple praised in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham and counted among the 108 Divya Desams. Vishnu is worshipped here as Paambanaiappan, a name linked to the nearby Pamba river. The temple is first mentioned in hymns by Nammalvar around 800 CE, and stone inscriptions date it to the Second Chera Empire.

It is one of five shrines in the Chengannur area tied to the Mahabharata. After crowning Parikshit, the Pandavas set out on pilgrimage and each installed an image of Krishna on the banks of the Pamba: Yudhishthira at Thrichittatt, Bhima at Puliyur, Arjuna at Aranmula, Sahadeva at Thrikodithanam and Nakula here. Another legend says the sage Bhrigu consecrated it. The Travancore Devaswom Board runs the temple, which opens from 4 am to 11 am and 5 pm to 8 pm.