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 Guruvayoor - God's own temple is a famous location
where there are about 40,000 devotees visiting to have a darshan of the
graceful image of the Lord, the sanctum, sanctorum.
It is one of
the most important and holiest pilgrim centres 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 'Guruvayurappan'.
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. He was not an ordinary boy! He performed
wonderful deeds and everyone was convinced that the boy was none other
than Lord Vishnu in human form, an avatar of Vishnu or the perfect
manifestation of the supreme power. 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. As Guru and Vayu together founded the temple, the
place came to be called ‘Guruvayupura’ in accordance with Lord Shiva’s
wish. Later the name was shortened to Guruvayoor. With regard to the
number of devotees visiting each day to receive the Lord’s blessings,
Guruvayoor Temple ranks first in Kerala and fourth in India. Considering
the number of devotees, it is a ‘Maha Kshetra’.
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