The Agraharams of Palakkad
Overview
Sree Vaidyanatha Swamy, Sree Santana Gopalakrishna Swamy
Location
Location: The Vaidyanathapuram village is 4 kms east of Palakkad railway station and adjacent to Govindarajapuram and New Kalpathy village
Address: Sree Vaidyanathaswami Temple, V.N. Puram, Vaidhyanathapuram, Valiyapadam, Palakkad, Kerala 678011
Temple Timings:
6.30AM TO 10.30AM
5.30PM TO 7.30PM
History
Deities
Photo Gallery
Utsavams
Vahanas
Adimakkavu
Other Agraharam Information
Contact Information
Well Known Elders from the Agraharam
Food and Catering
Hall for functions and Lodging
Bank Accounts for sending Kanikkai, donation or vazhipadu
Author's Notes
*Vaidyanathapuram Agraharam - 100 Agraharams Project*
*Agraharam 96 in the 100 Agraharams Project*
For the core agraharams in Palakkad we have been adding drone footage which puts the Agraharam in perspective and also shows the beauty of the location in which our forefathers chose to set up their respective villages.
Today we are going to look at one of the more beautiful Agraharam‘s around Kalpathi - Vaidyanatapuram. And one more of those Agraharams which is very close to my heart for I have spent my time bathing in the ghats of Vaidyanatapuram and Govindarajapuram during my youth, along with all my cousins.
Vaidyanatapuram is listed as one of the original 18 Agraharam‘s in Malabar manual by William Logan. It is also one of the earliest setup Agraharam’s along with Kalpathi, Govindarajapuram, Vaidyanatapuram, and Mukai, as they are all in an east west axis alongside the river Nilla.
Next time when you come to Palakkad or if you are around Kalpathi, you must make a visit to Vaidyanatapuram to see and delight in an Agraharam that has been preserved in a rather pristine way. The all wood, tile and stone Vaidyanathaswamy is modest but very inspiring and filled with Chaithanyam. The uniqueness of this Agraharam is the presence of Balambika, the goddess of children, Santana Gopalakrishnan, the bestower of children and Vaidyanathadwamy, the one who blesses us with a clear mind and body, and so it is important that if anyone should desire a child or good health, they come to Vaidyanatapuram and offer their prayers to the gods here.
This Agraharam located in a peaceful, sort of can say cul-de-sac. The Well in the middle of the road is one of the classic features of an Agraharam, which I wish is cleaned up and seats placed around the well to make it a magnet for all in the community. I only wish the local government would clean up the western end of the Agraharam that leads to the river and make it more scenic.
Radhe Krishna
Sriram Lakshminarayanan (Hari)
February 2026