The Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple is one of the most famous temples in India. It is located in the town of Guruvayur in Thrissur district of Kerala. The presiding deity is Shri Krishna, in the standing posture with four hands (Chaturbahu) that carry the Sankhu (conch), the Sudarshana chakram (a serrated disk), the lotus and the mace. The Lord is worshipped in his many manifestations, the favorite with devotees being the 'Sankalpa' of the Lord as 'Unnikrishnan' (Infant Krishna). For devotees Guruvayur is "Bhooloka Vaikuntham" and Dakshina Dwaraka.
The idol of the diety is made of a rare stone known as Patala Anjanam. The hereditary Tantri (Head Priest) of the temple is from the Chennas Mana.
Legends
Sri Narada purana mentions Guruvayurpura mahatmyan and describes how Janamejaya was cured of leprosy by taking refuge under the feet of Guruvayuruppa. The Pandavas handed over the kingdom to their grandson Parikshit, and left for the forest to spend their last days. Parikshit died of the curse of a saint, who cursed that Parikshit will die of snake bite by Taksaka, the king of serpents. After the death of Parikshit he was succeeded by his son Janamejaya. Janamejaya conducted a sacrifice to destroy all the snakes of the world including Takshaka, who was the cause of his father's death . Hundreds of thousands of snakes fell into the sacrificial fire and were killed, but the sacrifice was stopped before Takshaka was killed, by a Brahmin called Astika.
Since Janamejaya was responsible for the death of millions of snakes, he was afflicted with leprosy. He lost all hope of a cure. One day Sage Atreya (son of Atri) came before Janamejaya and told him to take refuge under the feet of Krishna at Guruvayoor. Atreya told that in the temple at Guruvayyoor the effulgence of Sri Hari is at its best and Vishnu showers his blessings on all devotees. Hearing this, Janamejaya wanted to know the full details of the Sthala purana and the greatness of the temple.
Sthala Puranam
According to legends Bhagwan Vishnu himself had worshipped the idol that we see now at Guruvayur, before donating it to Brahma. Prajapati Sutapa and his wife Prsni prayed to Brahma, and pleased at their devotion Brahma gave them this idol. Sutapa and his wife Prsni worshipped the idol with such devotion that Mahavishnu Himself appeared before them for granting a boon. In their over enthusiasm they asked thrice "We need a son equivalent to thou" . Mahavishnu told them that he himself would take birth as their son in three different janmas (births) and in all those threejanmas they would get the vigraha given to them by Brahma.
In the first janma in the Satya Yuga, Mahavishnu was born as Prsnigarbha, as son of Sutapa and Prsni. Prsnigarbha instructed the world the importance of Brahmacharya to the world. In the second janma, Sutapa and his wife Prsni were born as Kashyapa and Aditi and Mahavishnu was born as Vamana. In the Dwapara Yuga, Krishna was born to Vasudeva and Devaki. This idol was given to them by Daumya for worship. Sri Krishna established a big temple at Dwaraka and installed this idol there. At the time of swargaarohana Krishna instructed his devotee Udhava to install the idol at a sacred place with the help of Brihaspathi, the guru of the Devas and Vayu, the God of the winds. They (Guru and Vayu) took the idol and came down to a place down south and installed it. This is why the place got its name Guruvayu, where ur means place. It is also said that Bhagavan Shiva and his consort Devi Parvati 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 the nearby Mammiyoor Temple. Every devotee who goes to Guruvayur is supposed to go toMammiyoor also, as per tradition. Only Hindus are allowed inside the temple premises. The temple pool is known as the Rudra Thirtham.
Temple Architecture
For a very famous Temple, the Guruvayur Temple may not appear as imposing as many other famous temples in India. But the Temple is a classic example of the typical Kerala architecture style with a Koothambalam and an Aanappanthal. The walls of the temple sport mural paintings, depicting episopdes from the Puranas.
The Sreekovil, where the idol of the Lord is installed, is square in shape with pyramidal roofing. The walls of the sreekovil abound with mural paintings. The door, as well as the roof, is covered in gold. On either side of the door, two statues of 'dwarapalakas' are seen.
In front of the sreekovil, is the Namaskara Mandapam. It is rectangular in shape with pyramidal roofing. The sreekovil is surrounded by a wall structure called the Nallambalam or the Chuttambalam. On the left side of the Sreekovil, a small temple well known as the 'Manikkinar' is located. To the right of the Sreekovil, forming part of the Chuttambalam, the temple kitchen known as 'Madappalli'is seen. The 'Saraswathi Ara', where Saraswathi Pooja is conducted during Navaratri is close to this. The shrine of Ganapathi is to the left of the Sreekovil. Outside the Nallambalam and in front of the entrance the Kodimaram or Dhwajastambham (Flagpole of the temple) can be seen. The balipeetams also are located here.
The Vilakkumatam, which is an intricate array of metal lamps, is attached to the outside walls of the Nallambalam. On auspicious occasions these lamps are lit thus illuminating the whole Temple.
The shrines or Sastha and Devi, the upadevathas, can be seen on the southern side and the northern side respectively.
The whole area between the east gopuram and the west side of the Nalambalam is covered with a tiled roof called Aanappandal or Nadappura which provides shelter for elephants and for the pilgrims waiting for worship and is decorated with pictures and paintings. Annaprasnam and tulabharam are conducted here. To the south of the gopuram there is a very big Temple Bell.
The Koothambalam, where Koothu is conducted, is located at the south-east corner of the Temple while the Pattayappura or the granary is situated on the south-western side.
The northern side of the building is called the Agrasala or the dining hall. This is also used for daily Narayanajapam, Bhagavata discourses and sometimes as the green-room for Krishnanattam.
The passage through the northern wall of the temple leads to the temple pond called Rudratirtham. It is here that the processional deity or the Utsava Vigraha is bathed on the last day of the Utsavam (the annual festival).
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