Guruvayoor - Significance

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’.