ART-0507 Guruvayor: Where Heaven Meets Earth

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Guruvayor is a small but important centre of Krishna worship in South India.

Guruvayor is a peaceful city with a spiritual atmosphere and is considered to be “The Dwarka of the South”. The Guruvayurappan Temple is one of the most important and oldest temples in all of South India. This temple is small in size compared to other south Indian temples. The attraction of this temple is the beautiful deity of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna is known here as “Guruvayurappan”. The name of the deity means “The Lord (Appan) of Guru and Vayu”. Guruvayur is known as “Bhuloka Vaikuntha”, “where the spiritual world meets the earth”.

The deity of Lord Krishna is said to forgive all sins and grant liberation to his devotees. The deity is believed to fulfil one’s desires. This deity of Lord Krishna is over 5000 years old and is made of the rare stone patala anjanam. It has four arms carrying a conch, disc, mace and lotus and is adorned with a garland of tulsi leaves and pearl necklaces.

According to the Narada Purana, this deity was originally worshipped by Lord Brahma, and was given to Vasudeva, the father of Krishna. Eventually the deity was worshipped by Krishna Himself in Dwarka. Lord Krishna as he was preparing to leave the planet, gave the deity to Uddhava to help relieve his intense feelings of separation. As the sea began to submerge the city of Dwarka, the deity was transported by Guru (Brihaspati) and Vayu (the Wind God) to the present location. Guru and Vayu were entrusted to find a suitable holy place for the deity. They came to Kerala under the direction of Lord Parashurama (the sixth incarnation of Vishnu).

The worship of the deity is carried out by Nambudri Brahmanas who are expected to live within the temple precincts during their term of worship.

The evening brings the main event of the day – a deity procession. Every evening between 7 and 8 pm, the deity of Lord Krishna in his four-armed Narayana form sits on his golden throne whilst riding on top of a gold-bedecked elephant.

Guruvayur is 125 miles south-west of Bangalore.