Guruvayoor
This temple we visited during the annaprasanam ceremony (first rice or solid food to kids of 5 months to 9 months) of our grand daughter Neha .
Last August went once again during our Malainadu Divyadeshams trip.
Located in the Guruvayoor town, Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple is one of the most sacred pilgrimage centers in Kerala. It is one of the most revered temples in South India where the presiding deity Lord Vishnu is worshipped in Balkrishna Avtar. Lord idol is adorned with four hands each carrying a conch, a mace, a discus and a lotus and is also known by the name of Unnikrishnan. Garlanded with the Tulasi or Basil Garland and pearl necklace, the lord appears in full radiance blessing the devotees.
There are seperate shrines for Lord Ganesha Goddess Baghavathy Lord Ayyappan and Lord Ranganathar with Goddess Lakshmi. There is a Thulabharam (balance) people offer bananas jackfruit sugar whatever they have prayed to the lord according to their weights.
The walls are with mural paintings with Krishna leelas .
According to a legend, the temple was created by the preceptors of the Gods, Guru and God of winds, Vayu. The astonishing idol of Lord Unnikrishnan Guruvayur is made out of a rare mixture called Padala Anjanam instead of stone or metal which was more commonplace in the olden times. Simple in its construction, the spiritual charm of this place is unmatched and has devotees flocking to it from all over the country. However, this temple is open only to the believers of Hindu faith, and there might be long queues at the entrance but completely worth as you enter the temple complex
Mobiles are not allowed only traditional dresses are allowed . For senior citizens there are seperate queue both in the morning and evening .
For annaprasanam ceremony we paid a day before, they asked us to assemble in the first floor inside the temple opposite to the main sanctum sanctorum. Here the priests asks the parents to sit with their kids and they are served rice dhall papadam vegetables payasam in a plantain leaf to feed the kid . This is a one of the ceremony followed by many parents before keeping any solid form of rice food to their kids .
After this ritual we were allowed to see the main deity Lord Krishna.
As in all keralite temple the main deity is small and no electrical light only oil lamp diyas in the main sanctum sanctorum .
The legendary history extends to the consecration of the famous Sree Guruvayur Temple – It was the final phase of Dwaparayuga. The great Deluge has submerged Sree Krishna’s abode Dwaraka and the Lord, as a playful child, was frolicking on a banyan leaf tossed about by the surging waters. Devaguru Brihaspathi and wind god Vayu stumble upon him where upon the Lord himself handed over to them the idol of the Supreme Lord that he has been worshipping at Dwaraka, with instructions to have it installed and consecrated at an appropriate spot on earth.
Guru and Vayu then descended on the banks of a sprawing lake Rudratheertha rendered holy by Lord Shiva who has been doing penance there for ages. Realizing the purpose of the visit Lord Shiva suggested the consecration there itself on the bank of Rudratheertha and obligingly moved over to a near by location on the other side of the Rudhra theertha.
The place where Guru and Vayu consecrated the idol of Lord Krishna became GURUVAYOOR and the site that Lord Shiva chose for himself and his consort Sree Parvathy became Mahimayur, mahima evolving out of the status bestowed on Lord Shiva for voluntarily relinquishing his initial abode to accommodate Lord Krishna. This in course of time got colloquialised as MAMMIYUR. Even in Mammiyur there is a idol of Lord Guruvayoorappan . It is said those who worships Lord Guruvayoorappan should definitely visit Mammiyur Lord Shiva and have his blessings .
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