Karanakodam, near Thammanam, is a suburb of Ernakulam in Kochi, located about two miles north of the city. The main deity of the Sree Venkatachalapathi Temple is Lord Venkateswara, flanked by Goddess Lakshmi on the left and Goddess Bhumi (Earth) on the right. The original idol of Lord Narayana Devar, the family deity of the early settlers, is also enshrined here. This unique temple houses both Lord Venkateswara and Lord Narayana Devar within the inner sanctum. In the 1600s, a family that migrated from Goa settled in Karanakodam and established a small temple dedicated to their Kuladevata, Lord Narayana Devar, who became the community’s main deity. The more temple land was originally owned by Sri Kalika Prabhu, a successful entrepreneur and advisor to the Dutch Governor of Cochin. In 1769 AD, when Kalika Prabhu fell into debt, he sold his properties, including the temple, to the Cochin Thirumala Devaswom. In 1785, the Devaswom purchased additional land in Karanakodam for paddy cultivation for the temple. During the Portuguese attack on the Cochin Thirumala Devaswom Temple in 1662 AD, the idol of Lord Venkateswara and other processional deities were safely moved to Udayamperur, 17 kilometres away. After the Dutch defeated the Portuguese in 1663 AD, the idols were returned to Cochin, but Lord Venkateswara’s image was temporarily placed at the Shri Rama temple in Tripunithura. Sri Hari Shenoy, the then Manager of the Cochin Thirumala Devaswom and a devoted worshiper of Lord Narayana, had a vision during the construction of the new temple at Karanakodam. In his dream, Lord Venkateswara instructed him to install the idol from the Tripunithura temple in the new Karanakodam temple, facing east, while Lord Narayana should be placed in the northeastern corner, facing west. Following this divine directive, the Venkateswara idol was ceremoniously installed as the main deity, and Lord Narayana was also consecrated. The temple, managed by the Cochin Thirumala Devaswom, celebrates two major festivals annually.