Guruvayoor or GuruvayurSree Krishna temple is a famous Hindu temple located in the Guruvayur town of Thrissur district in Gods own city Kerala, India. It is one of the most important
places of worship for Hindus of Kerala and is often referred to as
"Bhuloka Vaikunta" which
translates to the "Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth".
The idol installed at
Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple represents a form of Krishna with its four arms carrying the conch Pancajanya,
the magical discus with serrated edges Sudarshana
Chakra, the maceKaumodaki and a
lotus with a boly basil garland.
This idol represents the majestic form of god Vishnu as revealed to Vasudeva and Devaki around the time of Krishna;
hence Guruvayur is also known as "Dwaraka of South India". Krishna is
popularly known in Kerala by different names such as Kannan,
Unnikkannan, Unnikrishnan, Balakrishnan, and Guruvayurappan.
The
"presiding" deity in the Sri Kovil of the Sree Krishna Temple is Vishnu.
He is currently worshipped 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 Cennas Narayanan Nambudiri. The
Cennas Nambudiris are the hereditary tantris of the Guruvayur Temple.
The tantri is
available full time at the Temple to ensure this. The Melsanti (Chief Priest)
enters the sanctum sanctorum at 2:30 in the morning and does not drink anything
up to the completion of "noon worships" at 12:30 PM. The Vedic traditions being followed at
this temple with absolute perfection is the hallmark of the Guruvayur temple.
It is important to note here that, even though the shrine is considered to be
one of the holiest spots for Vaishnavites,
the temple is
not a part of the
famous 108 Holy Temples.
The history of the
idol goes back to the hoary past to the age of Dwapara when Lord Krishna was
alive. His parents were Vasudeva and Devaki. She was the sister of Kamsa, the
cruel king of Mathura. They two of them had been great devotees of Lord Vishnu
for many ages. After diligent wooing him for many births, the Lord had
manifested himself to them and promised that he would be born as their son for
three lives in succession. He promised them liberation at the end of these
three births. This was their last birth as Devaki and Vasudeva in the clan of
the Yadavas in the city of Mathura and Krishna was born to them as their eighth
son. The idol of Lord Vishnu which is found in Guruvayoor is one which had been
worshipped by Devaki and Vasudeva and one can easily imagine that it must also
have been worshipped by Lord Krishna himself. This is the greatness and glory
of this particular idol of Lord Vishnu – that Vishnu himself had done puja to
it in his incarnation as Krishna.
"Om Namo Bhagavathe
Vasudevaya"
