This temple is the result of the celestial vision of Lord Sree Krishna that dawned upon Vilwamangalam Swamiyar the great sage and the ardent devotee of Lord Mahavishnu.
Lord Sri Anantha the first among the eight great Serpeant Gods, is worshiped here as Naga Raja, the King of Serpeants. This temple is also considered to be the place of origin of Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple.
Sri Anantha, who offers himself as a bed to the Lord of the three worlds, has been positioned with in the Fort at Thiruvananthapuram to the north west of Sri Padmanabha Swami Temple.
It was a small mistake committed by the Vilwamangalam Swamiyar that dragged him on to Ananthankadu, the dense forest. Vilwamangalam was a great seer who had a clear vision about Krishnavathara. He used to have detailed Poojas every morning .One day a small boy came to his house and offered himself as an assistant. Enamoured by the charming presence of the child, the sage entrusted him with minor jobs related to the rituals.But as days passed by, the child got too playful and started even hampering the Poojas. Swamiyar got irritated.One weak moment he push the kid aside, back handed.
The child vanished into thin air. “If you want to see me again come to Ananthankadu”-these words echoed there. The grief – stricken sage roamed about a lot in search of the forest; and at last reached Ananthapuri. While taking rest in the farmyard known as Putharikandam he overhead a poor farmer woman raging at her child, “If you cry a bit more, I will simply throw you off into theAnanthankadu”. Swamiyar jumped up and rushed to the spot. There the supreme Lord of the Universe appeared before him as AnanthaPadmanabha; Vilwamangalam Swamiyar, in total submission, lost himself. In his utmost urge to offer Naivedya to the Lord he looked around. All he could site was a small, tender mango. He grabbed it, put it in an empty coconut shell and kept it in front of his Lord, as Naivedya.
After few years, the then Maharaja of Travancore built two Temples in this area. He got the chaitanya of Maha Vishnu transferred to Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple and that of Anantha, to the Ananthan kadu temple.
The idol of Padmanabha faces the East and that of Anandhan faces the West. Ananthan the Serpant God reigns here bestowing bliss over his worshipers; and removing the hazards in life such as wedding – block, the wrath of Rahu, Kalasarpa Dosha, Skin diseasesetc. Worshiping Lord Anantha is certain to grant children to the childless and Ashta Nagapreethi to the needy.
UPADEVATHAS
Mahalakshmi, Ganapathi, Naga Lakshmi, Naga Kanyaka, Brahma Rakshassu, Siva, Hanuman, Dhanwanthari, Sastha, Saraswathy and Mahakali.
MAHALAKSHMI
Devi resides here as the embodiment of Power, granting all desires. Her Festival falls on the last Friday of the Malayalam month of Karkidakam. On this day more than 1,500 female children are gifted with dress materials.
GANAPATHI
SreeMahaGanapathi, who gives whatever his believer prays for, blesses the temple with his glittering presence getting towered day by day through daily Poojas and Homas. The VinayakaChathurthy in the month of Chingam is celeberated as his Festival. Covering the idol with sweet rice cake (AppamMoodal), MahaGanapathyHomam using 108 coconuts etc., are some of the special poojas conducted on the day.
DHANWANTHARIMOORTHI
Dhanwanthari is an incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu. On one hand, he bears the Abhayamudra and on the other three, holds Sangha, Chakra, and Amrutha. It is believed that he cures all diseases and gives relief to his devotees. The main offering is ‘KashaayaNaivedyam’. DhanwanthariPooja is another specialty here.