Guruvayoor

The Guruvayoor Temple is a famous Krishna temple and is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus and is often referred to as "Bhooloka Vaikuntam". The presiding deity in the sanctum-sanctorum is Mahavishnu. He faces east and his idol is 4 ft tall. Even though this is not a much small idol, devotees consider him as Little Krishna. He has 4 hands: The upper right hand holding chakra, lower right hand holding lotus, upper left hand holding shankha and lower left hand holding gada.

The main enterance to Si Krishna temple is on eastern side.  The outer prakaram has a large teak wood Dwaja stamba of 34 meters high. There is also a pillar for lighting lamps having circular holders to hold the wicks and oil. When the lamps are lit it provides a magnificient moment to our eyes.

It is said that routine worship at the temple was advised by Adi Shankaracharya , when he visited the temple. Every day the temple opens around 3 am for Nirmalya Darshanam. This is the first Darshan of Sri Krishna in which he is decorated with only garlands and flowers of previous day.

The dress code is extremely rigid inside the temple. Men are not allowed to wear shirts, baniyan or vests and must remain topless while inside the complex. They have to wear strictly Kerala Mundu (only white/saffron/black/blue) and are free to wear a shawl to cover the upper body. Wearing lungis or checked dhothi is banned inside. Until recently ladies had to wear sarees, but the rule has been relaxed recently. The current dress code allows ladies to wear churidars, pyjamas and kurthas. However sleeveless or short tops, pants, shorts and denims are not allowed inside. Covering the head is strictly prohibited inside temple for both gents and ladies. Children under 12 are allowed to wear trousers.

Narayaneeyam is the story of Lord Narayana. It is a work consisting of 1036 slokas, divided into 100 dasakams or chapters, each dasakam consisting of 10 slokas. It is said that the work has the blessings of Lord Krishna or Guruvayoorappan, the presiding Deity of Guruvayoor.

According to local legends, Bhattathiri had a Guru by the name of Achyuta Pisharati, who fell victim to a severe attack of paralysis, and suffered unbearable pain. Bhattathiri desired to find a cure for his master and fervently prayed for the disease to be transferred to him, freeing his Guru from suffering. According to the legend, Lord Krishna granted Bhattathiri his wish, and he soon became a cripple.

Once, when Bhattathiri, unable to move, was carried into the Guruvayur temple, he met Tunchath Ezhuthachan, an eminent Malayalam poet of the time. Ezhuthachan advised Bhattathiri that he could be cured if he "began his treatment with fish". The disciples of Bhattathiri who heard this were shocked because Bhattathiri was a devout Hindu and therefore a vegetarian who would consider it sinful to eat fish. Bhattathiri however understood what Ezhuthachan really meant - that he would be cured if he could compose a hymn glorifying the incarnations of Lord Krishna beginning with the fish incarnation, known as Matsya. Accordingly, he started composing the Narayaneeyam. It is said that he would recite one dasakam, consisting of ten verses, every day. The local legend says that on the hundredth day he had a vision of the Lord,  after which he was immediately cured of his disease.