I had written about the train journey and the beautiful early morning scenery on the route to thrissur in my earlier post. That was the first part of a suddenly decided trip to Guruvayur, and in this post, i continue about Guruvayur itself.
On getting down at Thrissur railway station, there are a few different options to get to Guruvayur, which is about 25 kms away from thrissur. One is to wait for the passenger train which stops at guruvayur station, which would be the cheapest option but depends on when your long distance train reaches thrissur and when the next available passenger is. The more common option is by bus, of which there are lots from thrissur to guruvayur. The other option is to take a cab/taxi right outside the station, and there are many who surround you the moment you come out. Although expensive, it is also quick and easy after a long journey. I also checked that cab aggregators like ola charged outstation rates to guruvayur though distance-wise it is only 25 kms, which made it twice as costly as the rate that the private cab driver outside the station quoted us. So off we went, bundled into the cab, bags and all. The roads in kerala are mostly narrow owing to the topography of the state, but apparently private bus drivers in kerala do not let such minor details get in their way, as they literally race with each other to get to the next stop first and load the maximum number of passengers. Anyway, about 40 mins later in our cab, we arrived and checked into our hotel in guruvayur, which was very close to the temple.
After showering and getting ready we headed to the temple. Guruvayur is one among the oldest and holiest of temples in India. Legend has it that the idol here was originally in Dwaraka, and at the end of the dwapara yuga before dwaraka was about to be submerged into the sea, Lord Krishna himself had instructed that Guru (Brihaspathi, the preceptor of the devas) and Vayu (the god of the wind) take the idol and install it in kerala. Accordingly, guru and vayu came to kerala and reached a spot where they found Lord Shiva meditating. Shiva himself said that the spot was the best for lord krishna’s idol and He moved to another location a little distance away (more on this later).
Thus, the temple where the idol was installed by guru and vayu came to be known as guru-vayur. The temple is in the typical kerala style architecture with sloping tiled roofs and a lot of wooden elements. the main entrance and the sanctum face east, with another entrance facing west. The main approach to the temple, the east nada, is lined with several shops, hotels, restaurants, and the parking area. The dress code to the temple is traditional indian clothing - saree, mundu, long skirts or salwar for women, and mundu/veshti/dhoti for men.
On reaching the entrance area, there are storage facilities to the right where you can leave your bags, footwear and mobile if you have brought these. Mobile phones are not allowed inside the temple and the bags are inspected before you join the line. There is a big waiting hall on the right side which is partitioned off into several lines with steel benches running along the entire length of each. There are no separate tickets or entrance fees and on entering the waiting area you are directed inside one of the lines, and you sit and wait. The wait time to enter depends on each day and the time of the day - in the 1.5 days we spent in guruvayur, we had differing wait times from about 30 mins in the least to about 1.5 hrs max - this was on a normal weekday and it will be more on weekends/ festival or auspicious days. It’s hard to predict which times the lines will move quickly and at what times they’ll be held up, so you mostly have to take your chances. At least there is seating and it is well ventilated so it is not that big of a deal. The lines are let inside one or two at a time and then begins the eager anticipation and a kind of thrill.
the east nada and main entrance to the guruvayur temple
Once you cross the main entrance, you see the tall golden dwajasthambam (flagpost) in the centre, right in front of the entrance to the sanctum. On either side of the dwajasthambam are imposing deepasthambams (tiered lamp towers), each mounted on a koorma peetam (tortoise base) below and with a garuda on top. The line turns left and there is a little bit of a wait here too, and a staircase to be climbed (like the one in airplanes) - this allows for the other devotees to go about their pradakshina without the crowd coming in the way. On descending the stairway one comes close to the entrance of the main sanctum, and parallel to the vilakkumadam, the metal frame for lamps that goes all around the perimeter of the sanctum.
The crowd soon presses into the narrow entrance to the sreekovil - the main sannidhi or inner sanctum. On both sides of the passage are raised platforms, from which one can imagine innumerable saints and devotees would have had their darshan of guruvayurappan once - and indeed it is on this platform that Narayana Bhattadhri is said to have sat and composed the holy text Narayaneeyam. This is now barricaded off to be used only by the temple priests. The crowd moves forward, with people craning their necks and standing on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of the lord right from the passage itself. And then it is only seconds before you come into the presence of the lord, in his form as Bala Krishna, anointed in sandal paste and always with a smile. Taking in his presence in the couple of seconds that you get, you move on as you try your best to retain that vision in your mind.
As you proceed on the pradakshina or the circumambulatory path, there is a shrine of Vinayaka and on crossing that, on the back wall is a sculpture of ‘Ananthasayanam’ - lord vishnu in a reclining posture, similar to the Ananthapadmanabhaswamy temple in trivandrum. Facing right across this is the backside of the inner sanctum, also the place to do namaskaram or prostration. There are also many pillars around the temple with various small sculptures of lord krishna, and a series of pillars with recent sculptures of saints, devotees, etc.
kerala temples maybe minimal in their sculpture when compared to other major indian temples, but their unique feature is the exquisite kerala style mural paintings. These are seen all over the walls of the sanctum in guruvayur as well as on the outermost walls of the temple. These vibrant paintings, traditionally using only pigments from natural sources and with only 4 or 5 colours, illustrate many scenes from the bhagavata purana all over the walls. One can complete the pradakshina and exit the complex, after seeing the shrine of Shastha (lord ayyappa) and Bhagavathy (goddess) on the way.
mural on the outer wall depicting the episode of Krishna lifting the Govardhana Giri
On exiting the temple, to the left, or to the north of the temple, is the temple tank or pond, called the rudra theertham, which is believed to be the place where lord shiva was originally in meditation when guru and vayu came to install the idol. In between the temple and the tank is also the oottupura or the dining hall complex, where the payments for various offerings can be made in the ground floor and the temple’s dining hall for the public is in the first floor.
mural depicting Krishna taming Kuvalayapeetam, the mad elephant sent by Kamsa to kill him
That was the experience of our first darshan at guruvayur, after which we proceeded to lunch and back to our rooms. I will continue with the rest of the day and the next day in subsequent posts.
Click here to read part 1, about the journey on the route to thrissur.
Click here to read part 1, about the journey on the route to thrissur.
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