Guruvayoor temple
Posted On February 3, 2012
The Krishna temple, in the town of Guruvayoor is one of the most famous Indian temples in India. The other temples are the Puri Jagannath of Orissa, the Nathdwara temple in Rajasthan, the Venkatachalapati temple in Andhra Pradesh. The presiding idol of the Guruvayoor temple is Lord Vishnu but it is recognized as a Krishna temple. It is believed that the boy Krishna runs around these temple premises thus giving it the status of the abode of Lord Vishnu on earth.
One of the Mahakshetras or great abodes of worship, the temple is considered to be one as it is near the sea, and has its origins in a forest. Also it has royal connections and has mentions in the ancient Indian literature, besides having the grandeur of being the site for festivals. The architecture and the sculpture here is astounding and the temple evokes a kind of architectural elegance very few can ever replicate.
Today the temple also has a school where the art of wall painting is taught to interested people. This wall painting art is known as “Chomiru Chitram”. Guruvayoor, the city is a place where the entire life revolves around this temple. Mostly all the activities here are related to the temple and it is thus the mainstay of people here.
Accessible by rail, road or air, Guruvayoor has Cochin as the nearest airport and Guruvayoor station as the nearest railhead.
Guruvayoorappan is how the lord is known in Guruvayoor and Appan means lord so Gurvayoorappan means the Lord of Guruvayoor. The idol here is a small one made of black antimony and is said to have magnetic properties. The Lord everyday is bathed with til oil and then sprinkled with a medical powder called the “vaka”. This light brown powder is what adds colour to the statue. Devotees go to the temple early morning, so that they get to see this sight. Then after this, water from the temple premises is poured over the idol such that the Lord is given a bath. This holy water is drunk by all devotees as it is said to have not only medicinal but also miraculous properties.
Legend has it that in the past, when Lord Krishna lived with his parents Devaki and Vasudeva, he was actually Lord Vishnu who was born to this couple as Lord Vishnu had promised them he would be born to them thrice. Krishna was his third such birth to Vasudev and Devaki. It is said that the idol at Guruvayoor was worshipped by Vasudev and Devaki and was also worshipped by Lord Krishna himself. Thus the idol is very much revered and much respected by all.
The sanctum sanctorum or the Sree Koil has two layers of copper sheet with the roof plated in gold. The deity is shown to have a conch, a chakra, a club and a lotus flower. The main idol is made of Pathalanjana Shila and there are two more idols one made of gold and the other made of gold. These idols are used for the seeveli procession which is a very important occasion in the temple.
The temple has mural paintings which depict the scenes from the Puranas and the life of Lord Krishna. There is a certain erotic touch to the murals. The doors to the temple have around 101 silver bells coated with gold.
There are steps which lead to the Sreekovil or the main temple and these are made of stone with lovely craftsmanship and designs.
The entire temple has a great ambience to it and evokes a lot of devotion. People have the “thulabaram” where people weigh themselves to objects of their choice, like gold, bananas, coconuts etc.
Guruvayoor temple in Kerala is a revered pilgrim spot for many across the world.
