Guruvayur Sreekrisna Temple, Guruvayur-Thrissur-kerala
History and Legends
The idol at Guruvayur temple is believed to have been made by god Vishnu himself and it later reached Brahma. King Manu and his wife, Satarupa received this deity from him and was advised to start worshipping it. Later it reached Kasyapa and during the course of time it reached Vasudeva and then Lord Krishna.
As a deluge closed in on Dwaraka, and Krishna gave his disciple Uddhava this deity and instructed him to entrust Brihaspati (the master of the demi-gods) with the task of taking the deity to a suitable location. Brihaspati went around the world in search of an ideal place with his disciple Vayu. On course of thier search they met Parasurama who led Brihaspati and Vayu to a lush green spot with a beautiful lotus lake called Rudratheertham where Lord Shiva was doing his penance .The legend of this lake Rudratheertham is that Prachetas (the ten sons of King Prajinabarhis and his Queen Suvarna) came to this place to do a penance to Lord Vishnu to get a son who become "the king of all kings" . Knowing this Lord Shiva emerged from the lake and revealed to them the "Rudragitam" - a chant in praise of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu appeared before them pleased by their penance by chanting "Rudragitam" after their rigorous tapasya for 10,000 years and granted them the boon . Because of the boon they got Dakshinaprajapati as their son .The lake derives its name Rudratheertham since both Rudra ( Lord Shiva ) and Prachetas observed their penance here.
Gauging the predicament of Brihaspati and Vaayu, Shiva informed them about the significance of this place and instructed them to fix the idol on the banks of the lake and he himself conducted the Pooja.The place where the idol of Lord Vishnu got fixed came to be known as Guruvayoor since the installation was done by Guru ("master") Brihaspati and Vayu. Siva with Parvati then left to the opposite bank to Mammiyoor.
It is in memory of this incident that a pilgrimage to Guruvayur is said to be complete only with a worship of Lord Shiva at Mammiyoor Temple also. But, as many devotees cannot go to Mammiyoor, they worship facing the north-west direction, where Mammiyoor temple is located or pray to Edatharikathu Kavu Bhagavathy in the Guruvayur temple complex. Visvakarma, the divine architect was entrusted by Brihaspati and Vayu to build the temple. He made it in such a way that on the day of Vishu (summer equinox) ,the first rays of the sun falls straight on to Vishnu's feet. The deity was installed in the solar month of Kumbha in the Malayalam Calender (February - March) and the ceremony was begun on the seventh asterism of Puyam and completed on the day of Anizham
Main and Sub deities
The presiding deity of the Temple is Lord Vishnu, worshipped in the form of Lord Krishna, his avatar. The sub deities of the temple are Lord Ganapathy in the south-western corner, Lord Sastha (Ayyappa) in the southern side of the temple, outside the Nalambalam and Edatharikathu Kavu Bhagavathy at the North-Eastern corner of the temple
Salient Features
The deity of the Guruvayur Temple is unique, since it is carved out of a stone called "Patalanjana Stone", and is considered extremely sacred by the Hindus.
The presiding deity is worshipped according to the pooja routines laid down by Adi Sankaracharya and later written in to the Tantrasamuchaya by Chennas Narayanan Namboodiri
The temple is open at 3 AM and closes after the day's poojas and rituals around 10 PM. Everyday there are five pooja’s and three Sreeveli’s (circumambulatory processions ) propitiating the deities and by taking the Lord's Thidambu on elephant's back.
During the days of Udayasthamana Pooja there will be a total of twenty one Poojas.
Krishnanattam is another Pooja offered by the devotees at the temple .There will be only one performance on a day with no performances on Tuesdays and during off season (between June and September).
Malar (puffed rice), Neipayasam, Plaintain, Sugar, Butter, Kalabham , Abhisheka Oil, Palpayasam, Appam, Ada, Avil etc are offered as Prasadam to the Devotees.
Guruvayur Ekadasi is celebrated on Vrishchika Ekadasi day(Sukla paksha) .The ritual is observed during the Malayalam month of Vrischikam (mid-November to mid-December). A month prior to this festival, a ritual called Ekadasi Vilakku is also organised.
Guruvayur Utsavam is celebrated during the Malayalam month of Kumbha (February to March) .The first day of the festivities is marked by an elephant race called Anayottam. Many music and dance performances such as Chakkyar Koothu and Krishnanattom are organised in the Temple premises. The 10th day is another
special occasion called Guruvayur Arattu.
Dos and Don’ts
Only Hindus are allowed to enter the temple.
Do not enter the temple wearing shirt, banyan, pyjama, lungi, chequered clothes, footwear etc.
Do not take video camera, mobile phone, radio, tape recorder etc. inside the temple.
Do not spit in the temple premises.
Do not retain babies and children for a long time within the Nalambalam.
Udayasthamana Pooja, Chuttuvilakku, Bhagavathy Chuttuvilakku, Namaskaram, Krishnanattam and offerings of the like, have to be booked in advance.
How to get there
Located at about 29 km from Thrissur in Kerala ,the nearest railway station is at Guruvayur. The nearest major railway station with better connectivity is at Thrissur. The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport, at Nedumbassery near Kochi around 75 kms away. Guruvayur is well connected from all major towns of Kerala and Tamil Nadu thru various private and state bus companies operating regular services.
official web : http://www.guruvayurdevaswom.org/
office adress:
Guruvayur Devaswom
Guruvayur, PIN 680 101,
Thrissur, Kerala, India
Phone:0487-255 6335/255 6347/255 6365
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