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Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple

Guruvayur, Thrissur district, Kerala

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Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple
Photo: RanjithSiji, CC BY 3.0

About

The Sree Krishna temple of Guruvayur is the best-loved Krishna temple of Kerala and is also called the Dwarka of the South. Lord Guruvayurappan here is a standing four-armed Vishnu about 1.2 metres tall, yet devotees lovingly worship him as little Krishna, Unnikannan. The temple is built in the traditional Kerala style, with gold-plated copper sheets on its roof. In front stands a tall gold-plated lamp pillar, and on special days thousands of oil lamps are lit on the Vilakkumadam, the frame of lamps around the shrine. Many Kerala families consider it auspicious to hold weddings and a child's first rice-feeding here. The temple's elephants live nearby at Punnathur Kotta.

The story

By the Gurupavanapura Mahatmya of the Narada Purana, this murti was made by Lord Vishnu himself in Vaikuntha and given to Brahma ji. From Brahma it came to King Sutapa and Queen Prishni, who worshipped it through three births; in their third birth they were Vasudeva and Devaki, and the Lord came to them as Shri Krishna. After Krishna left the earth, Dwarka began to sink into the sea. Then, at the word of his disciple Uddhava, Brihaspati, guru of the devas, and Vayu dev, lord of the wind, saved the murti from the waters and took it southwards. When they reached Kerala, Shiv ji welcomed them at the Rudratheertham lake, gave this spot to the Lord and moved to nearby Mammiyur. Guru and Vayu installed the murti here, so the place was named Guruvayur. In the 16th century Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri composed the Sanskrit Narayaneeyam here, and the poet-devotee Poonthanam wrote the Malayalam Jnanappana in the same age. A well-known story says the Lord preferred Poonthanam's simple, humble devotion to the scholar's pride. In 1970 a great fire swept the temple, but the sanctum and the murti were saved.

Visiting

November to February is pleasant; early-morning darshan is less crowded. By temple custom only those of the Hindu faith go inside, and traditional Kerala dress is expected. Devotees often bathe in the Rudratheertham tank first. The Mammiyur Shiv temple and Punnathur Kotta, the elephant yard, are nearby.

Festivals

  • Utsavam: the ten-day annual festival in the Malayalam month of Kumbham (February to March)
  • Ashtami Rohini (Shri Krishna Janmashtami, in the month of Chingam)
  • Guruvayur Ekadashi (Shukla Ekadashi of Vrischikam, November to December)
  • Vishu (first day of the month of Medam, mid-April)

Famous temples

Sources