Narayana Guru - 1856-1928

Blessed Souls in the Land of Beauty

Kerala is a state on the westcoast of South India. It is bounded by the Western Ghats and the sea. Rills and streams flow there in large numbers. In olden times, it was famous as 'Malabar' or 'Malayalam'. Malabar com prised two Princely States Travancore and Cochin. When India became free, the two states merged into one with the name 'Kerala'.

Kerala has been well-known in and outside India from very early times. Its people were brave and adventurous by nature. They sailed over the high seas and carried on trade with European countries. India became known in all those countries. Kerala is the land of the beauty of nature and of peace. Brought up there in the cradle of nature many men grew to be holy. It is the pride of Kerala that it gave birth to the great teacher-saint Shankara.

The capital of Kerala is Tiruvanantapura (Trivandrum). There is a famous temple in this city. It is the temple of Sri Anantapadmanabha. It is one of the many names of God Vishnu. He is called 'Padmanabha' because a lotus or Padma rose from his Nabhi i.e., navel.