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Guruvayur,
with its temple dedicated to Shree Krishna, is one of
the most popular pilgrim centres of India. Its chief attraction
is a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna known as 'Guruvayurappan'.
The town is a popular place for young couples to get married
and marriage halls abound in the town.There are shops
here that are open 24 hours a day and flower sellers do
a boom trade in garlands for the pilgrims and the marriage
parties alike.
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The
story goes that the temple dedicated to Lord Krishna was destroyed
when the holy city of Dwarka was submerged under the sea. Guru,
the preceptor of the gods and Vayu, the god of the winds were
entrusted with the job of finding an equally holy place for
anew temple. When they finally selected a site, the place came
to known as Guruvayur and the deity, Guruvayurappan. In
the 'chuttambalam' of the other enclosure of the temple, is
the tall 33.5 m high, gold-plated 'dhwajastambham' or flag-mast.
The 7 m high 'dipastambham' or pillar of lamps, is a splendid
spectacle when lit the evenings. The entrance to the inner sanctum
lies just beyond this. Within are ten finely carved pillars
on two raised platforms, one on either side of the passage.
Bhattatiri, the devoted 'bhakta' of Guruvayurappan, sat here,
while composing the famous 'Narayaniyam', the great Sanskrit
poetical work of 1036 slokas that sing the praise of the Lord.
Some
evening, there are special processions when the sacred images
come out of the inner sanctum and circumbulate the temple atop
the temple owned elephants, gold palanquins and the like. During
festivities, the outer walls of the outer temple are decorated
with the innumerable butter lamps, recreating the atmosphere
of a bygone age.
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