Guruvayoor Temple
Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu god Guruvayurappan (a four-armed form of the Hindu god Vishnu), located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala, India. It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Kerala and is often referred to as Bhuloka Vaikunta (Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth).[2]
The presiding deity of the Guruvayur Temple is Vishnu, worshipped in the form of his avatar Krishna. The central icon is a four-armed standing Vishnu carrying the conch Panchajanya, the discus Sudarshana Chakra, the mace Kaumodaki, and a lotus with a Holy basil garland. This image represents the majestic form of Vishnu as revealed to Krishna's parents Vasudeva and Devaki around the time of Krishna's birth. Worship proceeds according to routines laid down by Adi Shankara and later written formally in the Tantric way, the inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, by Chennas Narayanan Nambudiri (born in 1427). The Chennas Nambudiris are the hereditary tantris (high priest) of the Guruvayur Temple.[3]
According to legend, Janamejaya conducted a sacrifice to destroy all the snakes of the world including Takshaka, who was the cause of his father Parikshit'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.[7]
Since Janamejaya was responsible for the death of millions of snakes, he was afflicted with leprosy. He lost all hope of a cure. One day Sage Atreya (son of Atri) came before Janamejaya and told him to take refuge under the feet of Krishna at Guruvayoor. Atreya told him that in the temple at Guruvayur the effulgence of Sri Hari is at its best and Vishnu showers 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 the astrologer to 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 where Anantha (the emperor of serpents) was present and Anantha was the brother to the God at Guruvayur where he had finished worshipping.[7]
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 when Kerala was ruled by the Perumals. The Perumal rulers were mostly Shaivites and did not extend their patronage to Vaishnavite shrines. The Shiva temple at Mammiyur received 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 a Brahmin boy 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.[8]
The temple is managed by a special Devaswom (Guruvayur Devaswom) under the control of the Government of Kerala. The main festivals of this temple are the 10-day festival in the Malayalam month of Kumbham starting with flag hoisting on Pooyam star,[4] Sri Krishna Janmashtami (Birthday of Lord Krishna) in the month of Chingam,[5] Ekadasi (11th day) in the shukla paksha (bright fortnight) in the month of Vrischikam, popularly called as Guruvayur Ekadasi[6] and Vishu on the first day of the month of Medam, once a harvest festival.[5] The temple's sub-deities are Ganapathi, Ayyappan and Bhagavathi, and there are two sub-temples each, one for Ganapathi and the other for Nagadevata nearby the temple.
Strict dress code exists for people who wish to enter the Guruvayur Temple. Men are to wear mundu around 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 wear sari and girls are to wear long skirt and blouses. Presently the dress code for women have been relaxed with shalwar kameez (chudidhar pyjamas) being allowed.
The temple tank (pond) on the northern side of the temple is called Rudratheertham. According to legend, for thousands of years, Lord Shiva and his family worshipped Lord Vishnu on the southern bank of this pond. Since Shiva is also known by the name 'Rudra', the pond came to be known as Rudratheertham.
