One of the oldest and largest temples in Kerala and one of the 108 Divya Desams,[3][4] it has been valued by the Alvars and reportedly mentioned in the Garuda and Matsya Puranas.

[4] Pleased by the prayers of an old Brahmin woman, Sreevallabha incarnated as a Brahmachari and killed the demon Thokalaasuran.

[5] The temple for Sudarshana Chakra was built[7] by Sreedevi Antherjanam of Sankramangalathu Illam, and was rebuilt by Queen Cherumthevi in 59 BC.

Nammalvar and Thirumangai Alvar praised the temple,[3][8] and the Sanskrit poet Daṇḍin[4] mentioned it in his works.

Malayalam's earliest prose is the Thiruvalla inscriptions, dating to the first half of the 12th century CE,[4] which was obtained from the temple in 1915.

[8] The Garuda flagstaff,[4][10][11] made of black granite, stands 53.5 feet high and was built in 57 BC; its lower end reaches the water table.

[12] The flagstaff, topped by a three-foot statue of Garuda which faces the temple, has begun leaning and is surrounded by a three-tier edifice for support.

[3] The round, copper-roofed, golden-domed sreekovil is decorated with etched murals of Matsya, Kurma, Dakshinamurthy, Varaha, Ganapathy, Narasimha, Vamana, sudarshana, Parashurama, Rama, Purusha sukta, Balarama, Krishna, Lakshmi, Kalki and Garuda.

[9][8][14] Despite being the son of Shiva, Khandakarnan was a demon who sacrificed animals to please his father and never missed a chance to humiliate Vishnu.

[16] Soon after the construction of Dvaraka, Sagara gave many precious things (including the Sreevallabhan idol) to Krishna.

[8] Satyaki asked Krishna's permission to build a temple, and the celestial architect Vishvakarma built it in Dvaraka.

When it was time for Garuda to return to Vaikuntha, he hid the idol in the bed of the Netravati River (in present-day Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka).

[10] The area around the jasmine forest became a human settlement thousands of years ago as a spiritual and educational center with great wealth and power.

Sreedevi Antherjanam was illiterate; literacy was mandatory for Brahmins and women were well-versed in Sanskrit, and Antharjanam ignored their ridicule.

A devotee of Vishnu, she was troubled because she could not read a panchangam (astrological calendar) to recognize Ekadshi and her illiteracy would be further ridiculed.

[9] Mallikavanam was attacked by Thukalasuran, a demon called who robbed and was fond of eating young human flesh.

The aged Antharjanam could not leave, and it became difficult to find a Brahmin boy to continue her religious duties.

The boy installed a Durga idol and asked the goddess to protect the town; she appeared in three area temples.

Antharjanam completed the rituals and served food to them in areca nut leaves, since the rakshasa had destroyed all the banana plantations.

[5] Knowing that Thukalasuran had been killed by the boy, people came to visit and asked him to show them his golden pole to venerate.

[5] The boy removed his shawl, exposing his chest with the Srivatsa mark and Lakshmi; Vishnu showed his universal form (Vishwarupa) to her family.

The queen dreamed that Garuda, disguised as a Brahmin, told her about Sreevallabhan's idol and asked to install it there.

With the help of Garuda and the Tulu Brahmins, Cheraman Perumal brought the idol from the Netravathi River to Chakrapuram for installation.

They saw the idol installed in the right place, with blazing light and bananas in an Areca nut palm leaf in front of it.

One early morning, Vilwamangalam Swamiyar visited the temple while a dance troupe was performing kathakali.

He dreamed that Vishnu appeared as Padmanabha, sleeping in the ocean of milk; the infant Krishna with the universe in his mouth; and Vamana, who asked for three long strides of land from the asura king Mahabali.

The book Yajanavali is followed for worshipping Vishnu[8][20] Five unique pujas are performed, when the deity is adorned like Brahmachari, Grihastha and Sanyasi in several forms.

Poet and high priest Vishnunarayanan Namboothiri was temporarily removed from his post in 1997 after he crossed the sea to address the Millennium Conference on Integration on Science and Consciousness in Britain, violating temple customs.

Enter through the east gate, turn left and worship Ganapathy, Shiva and Ayyappan on the southern side.

The popular Paala Namaskaaram,[10] part of the third puja, is the serving of food to the deity and the Brahmins in areca nut palm leaves.