Kerala, a state located in the southern part of India is a fascinating tourist place. Besides, it is famous for its cultural heritage too. As such, in the city of Trivandrum is located the Krishnapuram Palace Museum. This 18th century palace is exactly located at a distance of 47 kilometers from Alleppey in Kerala. Built during the reign of the Travancore ruler, Marthanda Verma, it is a fascinating paradigm of the architecture of Kerala.
The palace is built resembling the typical style of Kerala with gabled roofs, narrow corridors and dormer windows. Today, the Archaeology department of India has taken over the duty to look after the palace, making it a protected monument. It is now a mesmerizing archaeological museum.
It is believed that Lord Vishnu was the family deity of the Kayamkulam Kings who resided in the Krishnapuram palace. As the king could worship the idol after taking the bath, the Gajendra mural was situated at the entrance of the palace.
The most interesting of this museum, is the 49 square meter Gajendra Moksham, i.e. the salvation (Moksha) of the elephant king (Gajendra). So far discovered, it is the largest band of mural painting in the history of Kerala. In addition to this, there are also rare antique bronze sculptures and paintings. Apart from this, there is a beautiful scenic garden in the palace compound decorated with a variety of flora and a newly raised Buddha mandapam housing a recently recovered statue of Buddha.
The visiting hour of the Krishnapuram palace is from 9am to 5pm. It is closed on every Mondays.
