Guruvayur Temple is a temple devoted to the Bhagwan Guruvayurappan (a four-armed structure of the Bhagwan Vishnu). It is under the Administration of Guruvayur Devaswam, established in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala. One of the most prominent sites of worship for Hindus in Kerala and is frequently mentioned is Bhuloka Vaikunta (Holy dwelling of Bhagwan Vishnu on Earth).

The presiding idol of the Guruvayur Temple is Bhagwan Guruvayurappan (Bhagwan Vishnu, prayed in the form of his avatar Bhagwan Krishna). The primary figure is a four-armed standing Bhagwan Vishnu carrying the conch Panchajanya, the mace Kaumodaki, the discus Sudarshana Chakra, and a lotus with a Sacred basil wreath. This picture depicts the grand form of Bhagwan Vishnu as unveiled to Bhagwan Krishna’s progenitors Vasudeva and Devaki around the time of Bhagwan Krishna’s birth. Prayer progresses according to customs designed by Adi Shankara and succeeding by formal writing in Tantric way, the inter-religious spiritual evolution that occurred in medieval India, by Chennas Narayanan Nambudiri who was born in 1427, his next of kin are the hereditary tantris (chief priest) of the Guruvayur Temple.

Legend

According to legend, Janamejaya administered an offering to slaughter all the snakes of the globe including Takshaka, he was the root of his father Parikshit’s end. thousands of numbers of snakes dropped into the sacrificing fire and were killed, but the penance was stopped by a Brahmin named Astika before Takshaka was executed.
As Janamejaya was accountable for the destruction of millions of snakes, he was tormented with leprosy and lost all hope for cure. Sage Atreya came before Janamejaya and advised him to take shelter under the feet of Bhagwan Krishna at Guruvayur. He promptly hurried there and settled the next ten months praying the god at Guruvayur. After ten months, he recovered and returned home and caught the astrologer on duty for making a false prophecy. The astrologer informed him that he would find the sign of a snakebite on his left leg. He had evaded death only because he was at that moment in a temple where Anantha (the King of snakes) was present and Anantha was the brother to the Bhagwan at Guruvayur where he had concluded praying.

History

The Tamil literature “Kokasandesam” points to a site named “Kuruvayur” in the 14th century, and in the 16th century there are also various hints to Kuruvayur. According to Old Tamil, the word “kuruvai” implies “sea”, therefore the village on the Malabar Coast may be called Kuruvayur.[10]
The date of the earliest temple documents back to 17th century. The earliest remark of the various significant Bhagwan Vishnu temples of Kerala is discovered in the songs of Tamil saints, Alwars, whose timeline is not precisely determined. Nonetheless, towards the end of the 16th century, Guruvayur Temple had become the most famous pilgrimage center in Kerala.