Guruvayurappan Shri Krishna Temple in Guruvayur – The Cultural Heritage of India (2024)

Guruvayur Templeis aHindutemple dedicated to the LordGuruvayurappan (four-armed form of the LordVishnu),Under the Administration of Guruvayur Devaswom, located in the town ofGuruvayurinKerala,India.

It is one of the most important places of worship forHindusin Kerala andTamilnaduand is often referred to asBhuloka Vaikunta(Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth).

The presiding deity of the Guruvayur Temple isGuruvayurappan(Vishnu, worshipped in the form of his avatarKrishna). The central icon is a four-armed standingVishnucarrying the conchPanchajanya, the discusSudarshana Chakra, the maceKaumodaki, and a lotus with aHoly basilgarland.

This image represents the majestic form ofVishnuas revealed to Krishna’s parentsVasudevaandDevakiaround the time of Krishna’s birth.

Worship proceeds according to routines laid down byAdi Shankaraand later written formally in theTantricway, the inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, by Chennas Narayanan Nambudiri (born in 1427).

The Chennas Nambudiris are the hereditaryTantris(high priest) of the Guruvayur Temple.

The temple is managed byGuruvayur Devaswomunder the control of theGovernment of Kerala.

The main festivals of this temple are the 10-day festival in theMalayalam monthofKumbhamstarting with flag hoisting onPooyamstar,Shri Krishna Janmashtami(Birthday of Lord Krishna) in the month ofChingam, Ekadasi(11th day) in the shukla paksha (bright fortnight) in the month ofVrischikam, popularly called asGuruvayur EkadasiandVishuon the first day of the month ofMedam, once a harvest festival.

The temple’s sub-deities areGanapathi,AyyappanandBhagavathi, and there are two sub-temples each, one for Ganapathi and the other for ”Nagadevata” nearby the temple.

One of its replica temples is Uttara Guruvayurappan Temple located atMayur ViharinDelhi. The temple is dedicated to Shri Krishna, who is worshipped as Guruvayurappan, thedeityof the famous Shri Krishna Temple inGuruvayur Town in the state ofKerala. This temple is most revered by the Malayalis and Tamilians.

Legend

Guruvayur Mahatmyam – early legend

According to legend,Janamejayaconducted a sacrifice to destroy all the snakes of the world includingTakshaka, who was the cause of his fatherPariksh*t‘s death.

Hundreds of thousands of snakes fell into the sacrificial fire and were killed, but the sacrifice was stopped by a Brahmin called Astika, before Takshaka was killed.

SinceJanamejayawas responsible for the death of millions of snakes, he was afflicted withleprosy. He lost all hope of a cure. One day SageAtreya(son of Atri) came before Janamejaya and told him to take refuge under the feet of Krishna atGuruvayur.

Atreya told him that in the temple at Guruvayur the effulgence ofShri Hariis at its best andVishnushowers his blessings on all devotees.

He immediately rushed there and spent the next ten months worshipping the god of Guruvayur. At the end of ten months, he returned home healthy and took theastrologerto task for making a false prediction.

The astrologer told him that he would find the mark of a snakebite on his left leg. He had escaped death only because he was at that time in a temple whereAnantha(the emperor of serpents) was present andAnanthawas the brother to the God at Guruvayur where he had finished worshipping.

The king then decided to build a full-fledged temple at Guruvayur. In time, this temple came to be downgraded and reduced to poverty during the days whenKeralawas ruled by thePerumals.

The Perumal rulers were mostlyShaivitesand did not extend their patronage toVaishnaviteshrines. The Shiva temple atMammiyurreceived their patronage and with the shift of royal patronage, the worshippers also moved to the Shiva temple.

The Guruvayur temple was thus reduced to utmost poverty. However, one day, a holy man went to the Mammiyur temple for food and hospitality for the night.

Though the temple was affluent, the temple authorities pretended they had nothing and scornfully directed him to the neighbouring Guruvayur temple.

When the holy man entered the precincts of that temple, he was courteously received by aBrahminboy and sumptuously fed. The holy man was very much pleased and he pronounced a blessing.

According to the legend, Mammiyur Siva temple began to decline, and the fortunes of Guruvayur Vishnu temple progressed from strength to strength.

History

In the 14th century, the Tamil literature “Kokasandesam” refers to a place named “Kuruvayur” and in the 16th century (fifty years afterNarayaniyamwas composed) there are also multiple references to Kuruvayur^.

InOld Tamil, “kuruvai” means “sea”, hence the village on the Malabar Coast may be called Kuruvayur.

The earliest temple records date back to the 17th century. The earliest mention of the many important Vishnu temples of Kerala are found in the songs ofAlwars,Tamilsaints, whose time-line is not exactly fixed.

However, by the end of 16th century, Guruvayur had become the most popular pilgrimage centre in Kerala.

Rudratheertham

The temple tank (pond) on the northern side of the temple is called Rudratheertham.

According to legend, for thousands of years, Lord Shiva used to bath on the southern bank of this pond. Since Shiva is also known by the name ‘Rudra’, the pond came to be known as Rudratheertham.

Popular devotees

• Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri(1560-1646/1666): A Sanskrit scholar and a devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan, known for his magnum opusNarayaneeyam.
• Poonthanam Namboothiri(1547-1640): A contemporary of Melpathur
• Vilwamangalam Swamiyara Brahmin saint, a contemporary of Melpathur and Poonthanam and
• Manjula
• Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar

Dress code for entering the temple

Strict dress code exists for people who wish to enter the Guruvayur Temple. Men are to wearMunduaround their waist, without any dress covering their chest. But it is allowed to cover the chest region with a small piece of cloth (veshthi).

Boys are allowed to wear shorts, but they are also prohibited from wearing a shirt. Girls and women are not allowed to wear any trouser like dresses or short skirts. Women are allowed to wearSariand girls are to wear long skirt and blouses. Presently the dress code for women have been relaxed with shalwar kameez(churidar pyjamas) being allowed.

Temple Elephants

ThePunnathur kotta, also known as theAnakotta(Elephant Yardin English), houses the 56 elephants belonging to the temple. This place is the home to the largest population of captive male Asian elephants in the world.

These elephants are donated by devotees to the temple, and due to the preference of donating tusked male elephants, the ratio of male and female elephants living at the Anakotta is skewed.

The elephants were initially kept at a compound close to the temple when the numbers were low. However, as more and more devotees donated elephants, the space became insufficient and hence they were moved to a larger property three kilometres away from the temple.

Because of their association with the temple, devotees consider several of these elephants as living forms of Lord Guruvayurappa himself.

Guruvayur Keshavanwas the most famous among those.The other notable elephant wasGuruvayur Padmanabhan, who was the chief of Guruvayur elephants.

The capture, treatment, and living conditions of the elephants in Guruvayur has been subject to criticism.In a study, the Animal Welfare Board of India found several violations.