INDIA, May 20, 2022 (The Hindu): The Thiruvattaru temple is being readied for Kumbabhisekam after 400 years; the structure of the Deity, damaged at many places, required refurbishing. The statue of Adikesava is unique not just because it is the longest among the Deities of the 108 Divya Desams, but it is also the longest Kadusarkarai yogam Deity in India: it has been created by covering 16,008 salagramas (a fossil ammonite held by Hindus to be representative of Vishnu) with Kadusarkarai (a paste), made of over 60 medicinal and mineral ingredients. “Even the statue of the Anandapadmanabha Swamy, another Kadusarkarai yogam, at Thiruvananthapuram is just 18 feet,” said S. Subramaniaru, the Tantri of the Kalpakamangalam Madam, known as Manalikarai Madam, which is vested with the right of conducting and overseeing rituals at many temples, including the Adikesava Perumal temple.
Sung by Vaishnavite minstrel Nammalwar, it remained the principal Deity of the Travancore Royal family before they shifted the capital from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram. As the temple is being readied for Kumbabhisekam after 400 years, the structure of the Deity that was damaged in many places required elaborate refurbishing. But sprucing up a Kadusarakarai yogam Deity in a traditional manner is a lengthy, complex and time-consuming process. There are not many experts who know the method of doing lebanam (the process of applying the paste) and the ingredients that go into making it.
To read more about the elaborate process see source.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/a-deity-made-of-16008-salagramaswith-kadusarkarai/article65429745.ece