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.
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