Ananthapura Lake Temple

Ananthapura Lake Temple
Lake Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Kasaragod district
Deity	Lord Mahavishnu
Location
Location	Naikap, Kumbla
State	Kerala
Country	India
Location in Kerala
Geographic coordinates	12°35′03″N 74°58′47″E / 12.5842449°N 74.979776°E / 12.5842449; 74.979776
Architecture
Type	Hindu architecture
Temple(s)	1
Website
http://ananthapuratemple.com/

Ananthapadmanabhaswamy Temple or Ananthapura Lake Temple is a Hindu temple in the middle of a lake in the village of Ananthapura, around 6 km from the town of Kumbla in Manjeshwaram Taluk of Kasaragod District of Kerala, South India. This is the only Hindu lake temple in Kerala, and as per some traditions, is believed to be the original seat (Moolasthanam) of Ananthapadmanabha Swami (Padmanabhaswamy temple) Thiruvananthapuram. It is considered one among the 108 Abhimana Kshethram of Vaishnavate tradition. Legend has it that this is the original site where Ananthapadmanabha settled down.^[1][2]

The lake in which the sanctum sanctorum is built measures about 2 acres. An interesting spot to keep in mind while visiting the temple is a cave to the right (North) corner of the lake. According to the local legend, the deity Anantha Padmanabha chose to go all the way to Thiruvananthapuram, through that cave. Hence, both the places retain similar names, being on either end of the region.