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Mattancherry, Ernakulam district, Kerala · 9.9563°, 76.2502°
The principal temple of the Gowda Saraswat Brahmins of Cochin, consecrated in 1599 by Swami Sudhindra Thirtha for a Venkateshwara image brought from Goa by families fleeing Portuguese persecution. The Portuguese destroyed it in 1662 and it was rebuilt the following year under Dutch rule; after further trouble in 1791 the image was kept at Alappuzha until it was brought back in 1853.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
The image is held to be swayambhu, said to have been shaped by Vishvakarma himself through a sculptor working for the Vijayanagara king Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Undetermined
Answers only from cited records
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