Guruvayur

By -

Guruvayurappan temple, the most famous temple of Kerala state, after Sabarimalai Ayyappa temple, is located in Guruvayur town. Guruvayur town is situated at a distance of around 29 kms from Thrissur.


The divine icon of Guruvayurappan installed in the temple represents the enchanting form of Lord Vishnu with four arms holding the conch Panchajanya, the discus Sudarshana Chakra, the mace Kaumodaki and the lotus. The icon portrays the majestic form of Vishnu as revealed to Vasudeva and Devaki, the parents of Lord Krishna at the time of Krishna's incarnation. Even though this icon technically represents Vishnu, people have called it Krishna since the beginning.


The Murti of Guruvayurappan, the main deity of Guruvayur temple, is unique since it is carved out of "Pathalanjana Sila", and is considered highly sacred. As per the legend, the beautiful icon of Guruvayurappan was with Lord Vishnu. He gifted it to Brahma. From Brahma, it passed through various people, and at last, Lord Krishna worshipped this Murti in Dwarka. Before returning to Vaikuntha in the form of Vishnu, Lord Krishna ordered Udhava to instruct Brihaspati (Guru) to install it on a suitable site. Guru, with the help of Vayu, was looking for a proper place; based on the advice from Lord Parasurama, they got permission from Lord Shiva and installed it on this site. Hence, the site got the name 'Guruvayur'.



Guruvayurappan temple has a tank where Lord Shiva was believed to have performed tapas and worshiped Vishnu for years. Hence, the tank is named Rudra Teertha. It is believed that Sri Adi Shankaracharya wrote 'Govinda Ashtakam' in Guruvayurappan temple, and he was the one who started 'Mandala Vilakku' - the lighting of lamps for 41 days in the temple.


Guruvayurappan temple also enshrines the other deities such as Ganapati, Shasta and Bhagavati. The temple has a lot of elephants and runs a small elephant sanctuary near the temple. The walls are full of mural paintings. In the corridor, there are sculptures of various Gods and saints such as Subramanya, Avvaiyar, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Shankaracharya, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and others.


Like any other Kerala temple, the devotees cannot enter the temple wearing the shirt, banyan, pajama, lungi, chequered clothes, or any different modern dress. There are facilities to keep them outside the temple. Men are expected to wear dhoti, and women are expected to wear Saree or churidar. 


A pilgrimage to Kerala without a Guruvayurappan temple is incomplete. 


Happy travelling.




















Visit my site, krishnakumartk.com, to know more about the travel guides and other books that I have written.


Comments

  1. P.N. SubramanianThursday, September 22, 2011

    Incidentally majority of Krishna and Rama temples in Kerala have the idol of Vishnu in the Garbha Griha.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tallest Murugan of Chennai

By -
Image
Consecrated in March 2021, the 40 feet high Bala Murugan icon at Saveetha Medical College campus is the tallest image of Murugan in Chennai. Malaysia has 140 feet tall Murugan. In April 2022, the 146 feet tall image of Murugan was consecrated near Salem in Tamil Nadu. However, they are all stucco images. But, the one that we find on the college campus is a monolithic granite icon. Thus, it is the tallest stone icon of Murugan in the entire world. A stone weighing 320 tonnes was brought from Siruvambur near Wallajah, and it was carved to 140 tonnes to get this beautiful and gigantic sculpture. The entire temple complex is designed in the shape of the Devanagiri letter "Om", which can be appreciated in the aerial view.  The west-facing gigantic sculpture is located atop the star-shaped pedestal. It dominates the entire landscape. A large meditation hall is situated below the pedestal. On the open corridor in front of the presiding deity, smaller shrines are found. They enshrine...
Read more

Little known Nimishamba Temple of Chennai

By -
Image
Site Name:  Nimishamba Temple Site Type:  Hindu Temple Location:   Kasi Chetty Street, Sowcarpet, Chennai city, Tamil Nadu state, India Highlights:   A rare temple of Nimishamba in Chennai city Nearest Railway Station:   Chennai - well connected from the cities/towns all over India Nearest Airport:   Chennai has both national and international airports How to reach:   Easily reachable by road as this is centrally located in the city Hotel:  Many star hotels, luxury hotels/resorts, and budget hotels are available in Chennai Restaurants:  All options - vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Chinese, South Indian, Gujarati, North Indian, Punjabi,....- you can find everything in Chennai city Chennai is considered as the gateway to South India. The capital city of Tamil Nadu state of India has hundreds of tourist sites which include museum, British period monuments, temples, beach, etc. Let us explore a little known temple called Nimisham...
Read more

Hastinapuram Navapashanam Murugan Temple

By -
Image
Navapashanam is an amalgam of nine poisonous herbs. It is said to act as a remedy for all types of diseases. It is believed that the Siddhas knew the secret formula to prepare this medicinal potion.  The sculpture of Murugan from the famous Palani is claimed to be made of Navapashanam. Similarly, there is a lesser-known temple near Chennai, which has a Navapashanam Murugan. In Hastinapuram near Chrompet in the southern outskirts of Chennai, in a congested lane called Masjid Street, this tiny temple of Bala Murugan is situated. Murugan, made of Navapashanam, is the presiding deity.  Jalakandeeswara Linga, Meenakshi, and the Siddha who found this temple are the other Murtis found in the temple. Happy travelling.
Read more