Guruvayoor (also written as Guruvayur) is a famous location in Kerala State, where there are about 40,000 devotees visiting to have a darshan of the graceful image of the Lord Krishna. The Guruvayur Temple is often referred to as "Bhooloka Vaikuntam" which translates to the holy abode of Vishnu on Earth. Guruvayoor Temple ranks first in Kerala and fourth in India.
It is one of the most important and holiest pilgrim centers in Kerala, South India, attracting thousands of pilgrims from all over India. The major attraction is the temple of Lord Sree Krishna who is also called 'Guruvayoorappan'.
Guruvayoor is located 25 km to the north west of Thrissur City in Thrissur district. The temple is famous as a site for pilgrimage and also a Cultural centre as it is one of the centre-points along which Kerala literature and art-forms have been developed. There are other temples nearby.
Legend
To trace the history of Guruvayoor, we have to go back a few thousand years. Lord Krishna was born as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki in the Dwapara yuga. Before leaving the earth to the heavenly abode, Lord Krishna told Udhava, his foremost disciple that he had installed the image of Lord Vishnu in the temple built by him at Dwaraka.
Later Dwaraka was submerged in the sea and Brihaspathi (Guru) recovered the idol and with the assistance of Vayu (Wind God). Together, they traveled all over India in search of a holy place and finally reached Kerala. Here, with the help of Parasurama, they located a holy spot. Guru and Vayu installed the image of Lord Vishnu (Lord Krishna) in the temple built by Viswakarma, the architect of the Gods. This is why the place got its name Guruvayoor, where oor means place.
It is also said that lord Shiva and his wife Parvathy were present at the auspicious moment and because there was a lack of space in the temple premises, Shiva moved a little further away, and gives his blessings from Mammiyoor Temple, which is a ten minute walk from the Guruvayoor Temple.
Every devotee who goes to Guruvayoor is supposed to go to Mammiyoor also, as the ritual goes. Only Hindus are allowed inside the temple premises. The temple tank is known as Rudra theertham.
History
Guruvayoor, according to the legends may be 5,000 years old as the Guruvayoor temple idol is. There are no historical records to establish it. In the 14th century, Tamil literature 'Kokasandesam', references about a place called Kuruvayur is made. As early as 16th century, many references are seen about Kuruvayur. In ancient Dravidic, Kuruvai means sea, hence the village on the coast may be called Kuruvayur. According to eminent historian Professor K. V. Krishna Iyer, the Brahmins had begun to come and settle at Kodungallur during the period of Chandra Gupta Maurya (321-297 BC).
Trikkunavay in the Guruvayoor documents is the same as Thrikkanamathilakam or Mathilakam mentioned in the Dutch and British records. And this place was in between Guruvayoor and Kodungallur. Guruvayoor was Trikkunavay's subordinate shrine since they were destroyed by the Dutch in 1755. That way Guruvayoor must have come into existence before 52 AD. The story of Pandyan King building a shrine here may be a reference to the Azhavars, but they are all silent in their writing about Guruvayoor. It was Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri's Narayaniyam through which the Guruvayoor temple got famous all over India.
Punnathur kotta: The main attraction is the famous Elephant Sanctuary (Punnathur kotta) near the temple where elephants are trained for temple purposes. Here right now more than 60 elephants are kept. All these elephants were offered by devotees of Lord Guruvayoorappa.
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Mammiyoor Temple: If you are visiting Guruvayoor temple, the visit is not complete without visiting the near by Shiva Temple at Mammiyoor.
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Vadakkunnathan Temple: One of the largest and ancient Shiva temples in South India. The sprawling Thekkinkadu maidan, encircling the Vadakumnathan Temple, is the main venue of the Thrissur Pooram.
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Nenmini Balarama Temple: The temple for the Balarama is very rare. This is a temple 3kms east of the Guruvayur Temple. This temple was originally own by the Nenmini Mana. It was handed over to the Guruvayur Devaswom on 10th march 1989. Rohini in the month Medam is celebrated as a foundation-day. Many special rites are held from first to 12th day of vrischikam Ashtamirohini and navarathri pooja are also important.
How to get here?
Road
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Guruvayoor can be accessed from Thrissur city by state highway 49. From Thrissur city there are regular private and Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses.
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There is a private and a KSRTC bus stand in Guruvayoor which run inter-state, inter-district and city services.
Railway
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Guruvayoor Railway Station lies in the Thrissur-Guruvayoor Section.
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There are two passenger trains operating from Guruvayoor Railway Station to Ernakulam Junction and another two passenger trains to Thrissur Railway Station every day. An overnight express train to Chennai Egmore via Ernakulam Junction, Thiruvananthapuram, Madurai, Trichy is also running from Guruvayoor Railway Station everyday.
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Thrissur Railway Station is the major rail head near to Guruvayoor from where you can get all South Indian and North Indian trains.
Air
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Cochin International Airport is the nearest airport, which is 87 KM from Guruvayoor.
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Calicut International Airport at Karipur is about 100 KM away.
