| Shri Krishna Temple Guruvayoor |
| Guruvayoor in South India is one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations and is "Bhooloka Vaikuntham" and Dakshina Dwaraka.The Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple is the most famous temple located in the town of Guruvayur of Kerala. Shri Krishna, is the presiding deity in the standing posture with Chaturbahu(four hands) carring the Sankhu (conch), the Sudarshana chakram (a serrated disk), the lotus and the mace. Patala Anjanam is the rare stone the idol of the deity is made up of. From the Chennas Mana where the hereditary Tantri (Head Priest) of the temple belong. |
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| In 1716 AD, Guruvayoor was attacked, ransacked and set on fire by Dutch ARMY. It was then immediately attacked after rebuilding by Haider Ali, Ruler from Mangalore. Tippu Sultan son of Haider Ali supposedly had a dream, he was told not to attack Guruvayoor Temple. |
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| Legends |
| According to Sri Narada purana Pandavas left for the forest to spend their last days by handing over the kingdom to their grandson Parikshit. Due to curse of a saint that Parikshit will die of snake bite by Taksaka, the king of serpents. After the death of Parikshit was succeeded by his son Janamejaya conducted a sacrifice to destroy all the snakes of the world including Takshaka. After hundreds of thousands of snakes fell into the sacrificial fire and were killed, a Brahmin called Astika stopped the sacrifice before Takshaka was killed. |
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| Janamejaya was afflicted with leprosy as he was responsible for the death of millions of snakes. Sage Atreya told Janamejaya to take refuge under the feet of Krishna at Guruvayoor temple at Guruvayyoor. Janamejaya wanted to know about the Sthala purana and the greatness of the temple. |
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| According to legends before donating it to Brahma, Bhagwan Vishnu himself had worshipped the idol at Guruvayur. Prajapati Sutapa and his wife Prsni prayed to Brahma, gave them this idol. Mahavishnu Himself appeared before them for granting a boon to Sutapa and his wife Prsni for worshipping the idol with great devotion. They asked thrice "We need a son equivalent to thou" in their over enthusiasm. |
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| In the Satya Yuga, Mahavishnu was born as Prsnigarbha instructed the world the importance of Brahmacharya. In the second janma, Mahavishnu was born as Vamana. In the Dwapara Yuga, Krishna was born to Vasudeva and Devaki. Sri Krishna established a big temple at Dwaraka and installed this idol there. |
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| Temple Architecture |
| With a Koothambalam and an Aanappanthal the Temple is a classic example of the typical Kerala architecture style. Mural paintings, depicting episopdes from the Puranas are sculptured on the walls of the temple. |
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| The idol of the Lord is installed the Sreekovil, is square in shape with pyramidal roofing. With mural paintings the walls of the sreekovil abound. On either side of the door, two statues of 'dwarapalakas' are seen. And the door, the roof is covered in gold. The sreekovil is surrounded by a wall structure called the Nallambalam or the Chuttambalam. |
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| The Namaskara Mandapam in front of the sreekovil is in rectangular in shape with pyramidal roofing. A small temple on the left side of the Sreekovil, well known as the 'Manikkinar' is located. Forming part of the Chuttambalam, the temple kitchen known as 'Madappalli'is seen to the right of the Sreekovil. The 'Saraswathi Ara', where Saraswathi Pooja is conducted during Navaratri is close to this. The shrine of Ganapathi is to the left of the Sreekovil. Outside the Nallambalam and in front of the entrance the Kodimaram or Dhwajastambham (Flagpole of the temple) can be seen. The balipeetams also are located here. |
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| An intricate array of metal lamps the Vilakkumatam, is attached to the outside walls of the Nallambalam. These lamps are lit thus illuminating the whole Temple on auspicious occasions. |
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| Covered with a tiled roof called Aanappandal or Nadappura which provides shelter for elephants is the whole area between the east gopuram and the west side of the Nalambalam and for the pilgrims waiting for worship and is decorated with pictures and paintings. Annaprasnam and tulabharam are conducted here. A very big Temple Bell to the south of the gopuram is one of the attractions in the temple. |
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| The Koothambalam, is located at the south-east corner of the Temple where Koothu is conducted, while on the south-western side the Pattayappura or the granary is situated. |
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| The Agrasala or the dining hall is the northern side building used for daily Narayanajapam, Bhagavata discourses and sometimes as the green-room for Krishnanattam. |
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| Festivals: The mandala ulsavam is celebrated for a period of 41 days towards the end of each calendar year. The annual ulsavam or festival is celebrated in the month of Kumbha, and this festival concludes with an elephant race. |
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To get there
Air
Nearest international airport is at Nedumbassery (87 km).
Road
The place is well connected to neighbouring places by good motorable roads.
By Rail
Guruvayoor has an independent railway station just a few kilometers from the temple. Else, one can access the temple from the Thrissur railway station, which is just an hour's drive from here.
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