Thiruvankulam

Thiruvankulam is a suburb of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is a part of Tripunithura Municipality and Kochi metropolitan area. In the days of the Kochi and Travancore kingdoms, Thiruvankulam was a border village. The Kavaleeshwaram stream, now a canal, separated the two kingdoms. The Kochi - Madurai National Highway (NH 49) passes through Thiruvankulam. It is a major fork junction on the highway from Kochi, going east towards Muvattupuzha and south towards Kottayam. Karingachira serves as a terminus of the Airport–Seaport road connecting Nedumbaseery and the Kochi port.Though Thiruvankulam was an idyllic village, its proximity to the city as well as industrial areas comprising the Kochi refineries and allied industries have contributed to its growth. The economic spurt in Kochi has resulted in Thiruvankulam emerging as a preferred residential area. This has resulted in a large increase in the village population, bringing it into a status of a small town.EtymologyThe name "Thiruvankulam" is derived from the word Thiru-vayaram-kulam. The legend behind this name is related to Lord Shiva and Parasurama Muni. The Siva temple at Thiruvankulam is one out of four other Siva temples, Parasurama Muni had built consecutively. Other 3 temples are Kureekkad, Perunninakulam and Trikkathara. It is believed that Muni saw Siva lying spread across all these places. So he built temples at places where he saw Siva’s head, nabhi, stomach and leg. The "Prathishta" in Thrivankulam Temple is considered as "Swayambhoo" - self-born.