were completed and everybody slept, the asura entered the sreekovil by destroying the pillars. At that time, Lord Vishnu appeared from one of the pillar in the form of Narasimha, his fourth avatar, and killed the asura in the same manner he killed Hiranyakashipu. After hearing the thundering sound made by the asura, all people woke up and rushed to see what happened. After seeing the ferocious form of the Lord, many people fainted. Some people prostrated on the ground and chanted the names of the Lord. They did not have the courage to look upon the ferocious form of the Lord. At that time, sage Amalaka came there and chanted the names of the Lord. After that, the Lord came back to his original form, and blessed his devotees. To prevent from further attacks, some power of Lord Shiva was also disposed in the idol, thus a concept of Lord Shankaranarayana also appeared. Even on special days associated with Lord Shiva, like Mahashivaratri, Pradosha vrata and Mondays, many people visit Thiruvilwamala Temple. Temple structure The temple is situated on the exact centre of Thiruvilwamala village, situated on the top of a hill 100 ft above the sea level. On every side except the east, there is some population. The main gate to the temple is from the west. There are more than 50 steps to reach the temple. Bharathappuzha, one of the major rivers in Kerala, flows 3 km away from the temple on the north side, and as the temple is situated on the top of a hill, the river can be clearly seen while looking downwards from the temple. On the west and east sides, there are remains of two huge gopurams, which once got destroyed under mysterious circumstances. There are two idols of Garuda, the mount of Lord Vishnu, on both sides of the main gate. There are many trees on the surroundings of the temple, providing fresh air and lush greenery to the atmosphere. Saraswathikund, the place where sage Amalaka is believed to have did his penance, is to the south of the fleet of steps on the west nada. The place got this name because there is a pit here with presence of Goddess Saraswati. There is a huge peepal tree here, and devotees write 'Om Harisree Ganapathaye Namah', the famous mantra chanted during Vidyarambham ceremony, and after that make models of many buildings