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| Guruvayur Temple (Gurupawanapuri) | |
|---|---|
 Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Thrissur |
| Deity | Guruvayurappan (Vishnu withfour arms) in his form ofKrishna |
| Festivals | Janmashtami,Kumbham Utsavam,Guruvayur Ekadasi |
| Governing body | Guruvayur Devaswom Board |
| Location | |
| Location | Guruvayur |
| State | Kerala |
| Country | India |
  Location in Kerala Show map of Kerala Guruvayur Temple (India) Show map of India Guruvayur Temple (Asia) Show map of Asia | |
| Coordinates | 10°35′40″N76°02′20″E / 10.5945°N 76.0390°E /10.5945; 76.0390 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Kerala Architecture |
| Creator | As per tradition,Vishwakarma (sculptor) Brihaspati andVayu (pratishta) |
| Completed | The temple was completed around 14th century. The earliest temple records date back to the 17th century. |
| Specifications | |
| Temple | 1 |
| Monument | 1 |
| Inscriptions | Murals |
| Elevation | 12[1] m (39 ft) |
| Website | |
| guruvayurtemple | |
Guruvayur Temple is aHindu temple dedicated toGuruvayurappan, a form ofVishnu, located in the town ofGuruvayur inKerala, India. Administrated by theGuruvayur Devaswom Board, it is one of the most important places of worship forHindus across the world and is often referred to asBhuloka Vaikunta, theHoly Abode of Vishnu on Earth.[2] The temple is classified among the 108Abhimana Kshethram ofVaishnavate tradition.
The central icon is afour-armed standingVishnu carrying the conchPanchajanya, the discusSudarshana, the maceKaumodaki, and alotus with atulasi garland. This image represents the form ofVishnu as revealed to Krishna's parentsVasudeva andDevaki around the time of his birth. Worship proceeds according to routines laid down byAdi Shankara and later written formally in theTantric way, the inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, by Chennas Ravinarayanan Nambudiri (1427-1527), whose descendants are the hereditarytantris (high priests) of the Guruvayur Temple. On 2025, Supreme court of Kerala verdicts that everyone are eligible to the thantri of the temple, irrespective of their castes. This was in response to the case filed by the organization ofNambudiri brahmins to restrict entry of other castes as priest in temples inKerala.[3][4]
The temple is managed by aspecial administrative authority under the control of theGovernment of Kerala. The main festivals of this temple are the 10-day festival in theMalayalam month ofKumbham starting with flag hoisting onPooyam star,[5]Krishna Janmashtami (Birthday of Krishna) in the month ofChingam,[6]Ekadasi (11th day) in the shukla paksha (bright fortnight) in the month ofVrischikam, popularly called as theGuruvayur Ekadasi[7] andVishu on the first day of the month ofMedam, once a harvest festival.[6]
The temple's sub-deities areGanapathi,Ayyappan, andBhagavathi (Who is given more importance), and there are two sub-temples, one for Ganapati and the other for Nagadevathas (Snake deities nearby the temple. All non-Hindus are prohibited from entry within the Guruvayur Temple.
According to legend, the kingJanamejaya conducted asacrifice to destroy all the snakes of the world includingTakshaka, who was the cause of his fatherParikshit'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.[8]
SinceJanamejaya was responsible for the death of millions of snakes, he was afflicted withleprosy. He lost all hope of a cure. One day SageAtreya (son of Atri) came before Janamejaya and told him to take refuge under the feet of Krishna atGuruvayur. Atreya told him that in the temple at Guruvayur the effulgence ofHari is at its best andVishnu 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 whereAnanta (theking of serpents) was present andAnanta was the brother to the deity at Guruvayur where he had finished worshipping.[8]
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 whenKerala was ruled by thePerumals. The Perumal rulers were mostlyShaivites and did not extend their patronage toVaishnavite shrines. The Shiva temple atMammiyur 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 aBrahmin 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.[9]
In the 14th century, the Tamil literature "Kokasandesam" refers to a place named "Kuruvayur" and in the 16th century (fifty years afterNarayaniyam was composed) there are also multiple references to Kuruvayur[by what?]. InOld Tamil, "kuruvai" means "sea", hence the village on the Malabar Coast may be called Kuruvayur.[10]
The earliest temple records date back to the 17th century. The earliest mention of the many important Vishnu temples of Kerala are found in the songs ofAlvars, the Tamil poet-saints, whose time-line is not exactly fixed.[11] However, by the end of 16th century, Guruvayur had become the most popular pilgrimage centre in Kerala.
In 1716, the Dutch raided Guruvayur. They looted treasures and set fire to the Western Gopuram (later rebuilt in 1747). In 1755, the Dutch destroyed the Trikkunavay temple and the Brahmins fled from there.
In 1766, Hyder Ali of Mysore captured Kozhikkode (Calicut) and then Guruvayur. He demanded 10,000 fanams in ransom to spare the temple. The ransom was paid but due to insecurity pilgrims receded. On the request of the Malabar Governor, Shrnivasa Rao, Hyder Ali granted a Devadaya to save the temple. Later, in 1789 CE, Tipu Sultan invaded the province. Tipu destroyed the smaller shrines and set fire to the Temple, but it was saved due to timely rain. Tipu lost to the Travancore and the English in 1792. The idol, which had been hidden underground in anticipation of the Tippu's takeover, was re-installed on 17 September 1792.[12]
Ullanat Panikkars rescued and looked after the temple from 1825 to 1900. From 1859 to 1892, the Chuttambalam, the Vilakkumatam, the Koottambalam and Sasta shrine were renovated and roofed with copper sheeting. In 1900, the administrator Konti Menon fixed the hours of worship and led the drive to keep the temple premises clean. He set up the big bell and reconstructed Pathayappura (granary). In 1928,Kozhikode once again became the administrator of Guruvayur.[13][clarification needed]
On 30 November 1970, a massive fire broke out in the temple, gutting the whole chuttambalam and the entire Vilakkumatam on the west, south and north sides.[14][15]
The temple tank (pond) on the northern side of the temple is calledRudratheertham. According to legend, for thousands of years, Lord Shiva used to bathe on the southern bank of this pond. Since Shiva is also known by the name 'Rudra', the pond came to be known as Rudratheertham.
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Strict dress code exists for people who wish to enter the Guruvayur Temple. Men are to wearmundu around their waist, without any dress covering their chest. 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 wearsari and girls are to wear long skirt and blouses. Presently the dress code for women have been relaxed withshalwar kameez (churidar pyjamas) being allowed.[16]
ThePunnathur kotta, also known as theAnakotta (Elephant Yard in English), houses the 35 elephants belonging to the temple. This place is the home to the largest population of captive maleAsian elephants in the world. These elephants are donated by devotees to the temple, and due to the preference of donating tusked male elephants, the ratio of male and female elephants living at the Anakotta is skewed.[17] The elephants were initially kept at a compound close to the temple when the numbers were low. However, as more and more devotees donated elephants, the space became insufficient and hence they were moved to a larger property three kilometres away from the temple. Because of their association with the temple, devotees consider several of these elephants as living forms of Lord Guruvayurappa himself.[18]Guruvayur Keshavan was the most famous among those.[19] The other notable elephant wasGuruvayur Padmanabhan, who was the chief of Guruvayur elephants.
The capture, treatment, and living conditions of the elephants in Guruvayur has been subject to criticism.[20] In a study, the Animal Welfare Board of India found several violations.[21][22]
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