Thripuliyoor Mahavishnu Temple

Temple tradition holds that Bhima built and worshipped at this temple during the Mahabharata war, undertaking penance here as the other Pandava brothers are said to have done at their own Chengannur-area shrines. The temple's notably large scale relative to its four sister shrines is popularly read as a reflection of Bhima's own legendary size and strength among the brothers. The presiding deity is worshipped locally as Mayapiran or Thripuliyoorappan, and both Nammalvar and Thirumangai Alvar are credited with mangalasasanam here, one of relatively few Kerala Divya Desams glorified by more than one of the Alvars in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham.

As one of the five Pandava-founded temples clustered around Chengannur on the Pamba river (alongside Thrichittatt (Yudhishthira), Thrikodithanam (Sahadeva), Thiruvanvandoor (Nakula) and Aranmula (Arjuna)) Thripuliyoor shares in a foundation legend spanning the whole group, while its own scale and prominence within that cluster is closely tied to its specific association with Bhima.

The temple follows Kerala-style architecture on an east-facing axis, entered through a simple arch from the main road rather than a towering gateway, with a rectangular enclosure wall (Kshetra-Madilluka) pierced by gateways and a metal-plated flagpost (dwajasthambam) standing axial to the path toward the central sanctum. The sanctum itself is circular in plan, its base built in granite, its superstructure in laterite, and its conical roof laid in terracotta tile and supported internally by wooden framework, a design shared in its essentials with the neighbouring Pancha Pandava temples, but built at a larger scale here in keeping with Bhima's association.

The Aratu festival, held in the Tamil month of Margazhi, and Kavadiattam, observed in the month of Thai, are the temple's major annual festivals, each marked by processions accompanied by traditional music and dance.

Daily worship follows the customary Kerala temple schedule; the Aratu and Kavadiattam festival periods bring considerably larger crowds and a livelier, more processional atmosphere than an ordinary visit.