Located in the town of Guruvayur, Kerala, Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple  is one of the most important places of worship in kerala. This temple dedicated to Lord Krishna is often referred as "Bhuloka Vaikunta" which means "Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth". Guruvayur temple is also known as "Dwarka of South India". It is one of the five famous Krishna/Vishnu temples in India. Others are the Jagannath Temple in Puri in Odisha, Tirupati Venkatachalapati in Andhra Pradesh, Nathdwara in Rajasthan and Dwaraka in Gujarat. Non-Hindus are not allowed in Guruvayur temple.

Location Kerala, Trichur, Thiruvananthapuram

Legend

When Lord Bhahma was busy creating lives in Padma Kalpa, Lord Vishnu appeared in front of him and gave Him an idol of His own when the former requested Lord Vishnu to get salvation to Himself. It is said that the idol was made by Lord Vishnu Himself.

In Varaha Kalpa, Lord Brahma handed over the idol to King Sutapass and his wife Prasni as they were worshipping Shree Vishnu for a son. The satisfied Lord Vishnu appeared in front of the royal couple and promised them that He will be their son in His four births and every time, they will be receiving the idol and worship Lord Vishnu. Hence in Satya Yuga Shree Vishnu was born as Prasnigarbha, the son of Sutapass and his wife Prasni, in the Treta Yuga, the couple was born as Kashyapa and Aditi and Vamana was their son, in the latter half of the Treta Yuga the couple was again born as King Dasharatha and Queen Kaushalya and Rama was their son and lastly in the Dwapar Yuga Lord Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva.

When Lord Krishna was about to leave the mortal being, he gave the responsibility of the idol to Uddava, his follower at Dwarka as he knew that a flood will come and everything will go in the waters. Hence, Uddava should hand over the idol to Brihaspati and Vaayu.

Later on Brihaspati and Vaayu reached Rudrateertham  and under the guidance of Lord Shiva and Maata Parvathy, they consecrated the idol of Lord Vishnu in the temple created by Vishwakarma Himself. As Guru and Vayu took the idol and consecrated It, the shrine came to known as Guruvayoor and the idol is called Lord Guruvayoorappan.

Architecture

Guruvayoor temple is the perfect example of the classic Vastuvidya architecture belonging to Kerala exclusively. The century old temple is faced to the east and has two gigantic Gopurams. One is facing the east called Kizhakkenada and the other is facing towards the west called Padinjarenada. The entire premise inside the temple is roofed with tiles called Anapanthal. The central hall is called the Nalambalam built with many pillars and the outer walls of the hall are ornamented with a gallery of beautiful oil lamps. A sub shrine of Lord Ayyappan is situated at the southern side of the Nalambalam.

In the Garbhagriha the Lord Guruvayurappan is established. All the things in the garbhagriha are made of gold. The outer hall is called the Mukhamandapam. The walls of the Shree Kovil are wonderfully decorated with the 17th century murals. The Shree Kovil sanctum is made in two layers with copper sheet roofing and is finally plated with gold. Inside Lord Mahavishu is worshipped. The idol is said to be created by Lord Vishnu himself.

Pic courtesy : commons.wikimedia

Culture

The culture of Kerala has made a strong position in the Indian subcontinent with the perfect blend of the traditional Aryan and Dravidian cultures. Historical references have traced the genesis of Kerala from a pre-historic area called Thamizhagom during the 3rd century CE and later on many cultural similarities are found from the Tamil cultures of the Chera, Chola, and Pandya kingdoms. The people mainly speak Malayalam and are enriched with proper education, performing arts, martial arts etc. Kerala is famous for being God's own Country.

Darsan Info

The temple is open for darshan from

3.00 AM -12.30 PM & 4.30 PM - 09:15 PM

Darsan Dresscode

Male devotees at the Guruvayur Temple are allowed to wear a mundu around their waist and veshthi to cover their upper portion of the body. Men cannot enter the temple covering their chest. Boys are allowed to enter the shrine in short pants.  Thus, wearing shirt is not allowed inside the temple premise for the male pilgrims. Women folks can wear saree or dhoti. They cannot enter the temple in western outfits and immodest clothes. Women don't have to cover their heads inside the South Indian temples unlike North India.

Famous Festival

April :- Vishu

August :- Ashtamirohini

August \ Sept :- Puthhari , Tiruvonam

Oct \ Nov :- Pooja , Navaratri

Nov :- Vrishchika Ekadasi

Dec :- Mandala Pooja ..This is a ritual of 41 days that starts on the 1st day of the Vrishchikam month in the Malayalam calendar for the pilgrimage to Sabarimala for Lord Ayyappa. Usually, the devotees trekking for Sabarimala seek blessings at the Guruvayur temple.

Temple Rituals

Nirmalyaam, Oilabhishekam , Vakacharthu, Sankhabhishekam, Malar Nivedyam , Alankaram, Usha Nivedyam, Ethirettu puja, Usha pooja, Seeveli,Palabhishekam ,Navakabhishekam , Pantheeradi, Uchha pooja, Deeparadhana, Athazha puja Nivedyam, Athazha puja, Athazha seeveli, Thrippuka, Olavayana.

Special Rituals

Guruvayoor Nirmalya darsanam is a special ritual which is everyday morning at 3:00 am

Additional Info

 

There are close to 20+ Restaurants available in this area Mainly:-

Hotel Devaragam

Indian Coffee House

Hotel Sopanam Heritage

Saravana Bahvan

  

 Supermarket : Available