KERALA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at Thriprayar Shree Ramaswamy Temple in Kerala's Thrissur on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister's visit to the Rama Swamy temple in Triprayar is significant at a time when the date for the highly anticipated 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya is nearing.

The Triprayar temple is one of the prominent temples in the state with Lord Ram as the main deity. The image of Lord Ram (Triprayar Thevar) resembles the Chaturbhuja Vishnu form with four arms, bearing a conch(Panchajanya), a disc (Sudarsana), a bow (Kodanda) and a garland respectively. It is believed that the deity worshipped here possesses some of the aspects of Shiva too. It was after killing the asura, Khara that Sri Rama got both the Shaiva and Vaishnava aspects.

Thus Triprayar Thevar is also called Khara Samhara Moorthy. It is also believed that the portrayal of Rama with a garland held in the image's hand is also suggestive of aspects of Bhrahma and hence the deity is said to be a manifestation of the Trimoorthis. The image is adorned with necklaces and other fine jewelry. Images of Sreedevi and Bhudevi are on either side.