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.

Chottanikkara Bhagavathi temple

Chottanikkara is a village in Ernakulam district, Kerala. The deity is Adi parashakti . She is worshipped as Goddess Saraswathi in the morning, draped in white, as Goddess Lakshmi in noon, draped in red and Goddess Durga, draped in blue in the evening. The idol is laterite stone that can be seen in early morning during Nirmalya pooja, when previous day’s flowers and garlands are removed. Later Goddess is covered with golden carved parashakthi with four arms. Next to her is the granite stone idol of Maha Vishnu. 

Legend says, the area in which the temple is situated was once a dense forest that was believed to be occupied by yakshis and rakshsas. A tribesman named Kannappan, a devout worshipper of Kali, would ritually sacrifice a cow to her every Friday( the day of the Goddess). One day, he found a beautiful black cow near the forest. He kidnapped her and took her to his place. Just before he sacrificed the cow, his daughter stopped him. The man loved his daughter and thus let her keep the cow. Unfortunately, she died the next morning. However, when the tribe’s man looked after the cow, he dreamt that people were worshipping the cow, next morning he found two divine stones in its place he worshipped them as one as Lakshmi and the other as Vishnu till his death. After many years, the stones were forgotten. One day, a woodcutter came to the forest to cut some trees. Since his axe was blunt, he sharpened it on a nearby stone. To his Wonder, the stone started bleeding. After devaprashnam, it was concluded that the stones were divine. The idol at Keezhkavu didn't come until after the temple was built. One night, a Brahmin was walking along a moonlit path. Suddenly, he saw a beautiful woman, standing all alone. He offered to escort her home, and she agreed. However, when the Brahmin went to the Goddess's priest, he was told that it was really a yakshi. Thus, with the yakshi after him, the Brahmin ran to the temple. Just as he reached the sanctum, the yakshi transformed and rounded up on him. However, the goddess jumped out of the sanctum sanctorum as Kali and killed her. She then went to wash herself in the pond, where the Kali idol was found hundreds of years later by Vilvamangalam of Guruvayoor.

The 'Devi' in the temple is known for the healing powers, particularly relating to mental illness and disorders. Mentally disturbed people go to Chottanikkara to ward off the evil spirits they believe  to haunt them. The priest hands a nail or two to the possessed persons and they hammers into the tree next to the shrine using their forehead or fist.

The Goddess here is specially connected to the Mookambika Devi of Kollur in Karnataka. The sacred doors of the sanctum sanctorum open in the early hours of the day, at 4.00 a.m. The blowing of the conch and playing of the temple musical instruments gives peace to those who seek a sure answer to the prayers. Sree Mookambika Saraswathi is also believed as present in the temple in the morning. That is why Mookambika Temple at kollur opens only after the Goddess Saraswathi returns late in the morning.

On the eastern side of the temple pond stands the Kizhukkavu temple. The idol facing westward is belived to be installed by Villwamangalam Swamiyaar. After the main pooja in the evening, the chief priest of the principal deity comes to Kizhukkavu to perform the famous pooja called as "ValiyaGuruthy" (great Sacrifice). The Guruthy is prepared in 12 huge vessels and is performed at about 8.45 p.m every night.Those who witness the guruthy pooja, which itself is inspiring and huge ceremony, finds it an experience where no words can be described. Being present there during Valiya guruthy on Fridays permanently cures women suffering from mental abnormalities.

Bhajanam is yet another important worship undertaking in the temple. This requires a person to stay in the temple premises for two days, take part in all the poojas and eat only the temple prasadam. People who follow the whole ritual correctly are believed to be blessed with great good fortune and health. Their wishes are fulfilled by Amme Bhagavathi. The Mother Goddess at Chottanikkara is a wish granter, a protector of enemies and evils plus a divine healer.

Sree Vallabha Temple Thiruvalla

This famous Temple is situated at Thiruvalla Sub district. The exact location of this temple is ½km south of Ramapuram vegetable market on the Thiruvalla - Kayamkulam Main Road. The present Thiruvalla was known as Sree Vallabhapuram in the past and was an important place of Pilgrimage in South India.

Being one among 108 Divya Desams Sreevallabha temple has been glorified by Alvars and many other ancient works. It is considered to be the vallabha kshethram.

Vallabha idol is bearing a conch, a discus and a lotus. The Sudarshana Chakram seen through the west cardinal door of the sanctum is held in worship and is believed to have been installed in the 13th century. Sandalwood paste is offered as the prasadam in the Vallabha shrine, while vibhooti or the sacred ash is offered as prasadam in the Chakra sign on the other side of the sanctum.

The Dwaja stamba of this temple is a monolithic structure of black granite 50 feet in height. At the top of this staff is an image of Garuda.

The rule for darshan at this temple is - first offer prayers to Ganapathy, Sastha, Bhagavathy and Kurayappan swami outside the nalambalam. Then visit Ilavanthi Theertham and offer prayers to Sage Vyasa. Then offer prayers to Sage Durvasa and then to Garuda at the top of the dwaja. Then enter inside the nalambalam and offer prayers to Vishwaksena, Dakshinamoorthy and reach infront of the sreekovil. Then offer prayers to Lakshmi Devi, bhumi Devi and Lord Sree Vallabha. Then start the pradakshinam inside the nalambalam and offer prayers to Lord sudarsana in the west nada.

Daily five main pooja are being performed with thee naivedyam and three sreebali. It starts with palliyunarthal or awakening the Lord followed by abhishekam or bathing with 12 pots of water sanctified with vedic chantings. This is followed by malar naivedyam. Afterwards Usha Pooja which is Purusha sukta pradhana starts. At this time, the idol will be dressed up like a brahmachari in 18 feet long white mundu with uthareeyam and two flower garlands. Then main nivedyam is done followed by usha deepaaradhana. First sreebali(sacrificing food to all crew of the deity) follows this. Pantheeradi pooja starts after a short interval in which the Lord is dressed up in Saffron-yellow mundu, angavastram, tulasi garland only. No ornaments are used during this as the Lord is assumed as a Yogeeshwara. This is also called as Purushanarayana pooja. Then follows Madhyahna/ ucha pooja or noon pooja in which Lord is assumed to be thriloka chakravarthi i.e. emperor of three worlds, grihastha bhava, adorned with all ornaments and garlands especially kesaadipaadam garlands. Ucha pooja is completed in three parts one inside sanctum-sanctorum, another one at navaka pooja and third being the paala namaskaaram. At this time ucha nivedyam and paala namaskaaram are done followed by sreebali and temple closes. Evening temple opens and deeparaadhana or lamp worship is done after sometime. Then follows the fourth pooja in which the Lord is assumed to be sreemad naarayanan and these two pooja are in Sthithi sankalpa. Soon athazha pooja/5th pooja is done in which Sreevallabha is assumed to be Parabrahma. Now the Lord will be dressed up in a single saffron colour mundu and a tulasi garland only. After third sreebali, Lakshminarayana pooja is done as a part of the Sleeping ceremony and sanctum-sanctorum is closed keeping necessary articles for a pooja inside for Sage Durvasa along with Saptarishi, who come at midnight daily for ardhayaama pooja. Sage Durvasa is believed to perform always naivedya also and hence prasanna pooja is open and naivedyam is done closed. Devotees also should never use vibuthi inside the temple, even though it is the prasada given. They shall use it outside only. Male devotees are not allowed to wear shirt, t-shirts etc.

Temple Timings: morning 4 a.m. to noon 12 p.m. and evening 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.