Guruvayur, the temple town known for its famous Guruvayurappan temple is a quaint mallu town where people usually come for only one reason - prayer. Unfortunately, entry is restricted only to Hindus in almost all the temples in the town, so the beautiful architecture is denied to foreigners. As with many other temples in Kerala, temples in Guruvayur also have a strict dress code.
Guruvayur Krishan Temple
The most famous temple in the town, the Guruvayurappan temple is a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna, the 9th avatar of Lord Vishnu. Legends say that the idol here has been worshipped for the past 5000 years. Narayaneeyam, a medieval Sanskrit text of the 16th century, composed in this temple by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, made this temple more famous. Both as a poem and as a devotional hymn, Narayaneeyam occupies a very high place in Sanskrit literature.
Architecture: The temple is filled with sculptures of the 10th avatars of Vishnu and mischievousness of the young Lord Krishna and mural art adorns the wall of the temples. These Mural Paintings, frescos depicting mythology and legends, are dated back to 9th and 10th century. The murals palette consists of five colours or Panchvarna namely, yellow, red, green, black and white, prepared from mineral pigments and vegetables. Turmeric for yellow, black soot for black, limestone for white, leaf extracts for green and Kumkum for red is used.
Performances: The open auditorium outside the temple has budding performers from across the country exhibiting their prowess almost everyday. Performing in front of the God is a big deal and you can see a lot of kids giving it their all.
Shopping & Food: The marketplace around the Guruvayur temple is famous for Kerala handicrafts and mural paintings. Bargaining is possible and if you have a local with you, you can get great deals. Apart from the usual Kathakali figurines, thooku vilaku and other kinds of traditional Kerala lamps and containers carved out of wood make for good souvenirs and gifts. N. Ayyapan Nair shop, located a little away from the marketplace, is a wholesale shop and has greater variety for a (fixed) lower price. The area around the temple also has a lot of South Indian restaurants, serving vegetarian food.
Mammiyur Mahadeva Temple
Legend has it that any pilgrimage to Guruvayoor Temple is complete only after a visit to Mammiyur Temple. Even in the Guruvayur temple, a bulletin says that the devotees should pray in the direction of the Mammiyur temple symbolizing a prayer to the Mammiyur Mahadeva, even if they are unable to personally go there. Here, the Lord is a family man, with Goddess Parvati on his lap, and Lords Ganesha, Subrahmanya and Ayyappa beside. The Rudratheertham or the temple pond here is used for purification. A Bhagavathy temple adjoins the backside of this temple.
Aanakotta (Punnathur Kotta)
The Guruvayurappan temple board also runs an elephant sanctuary (Punnathur Kotta), which is open to all. The visiting hours are 8.00 AM to 6.00 PM. The entry fee is Rs. 10 per adult & Rs. 5 for children. An extra Rs. 25 is charged for to use a camera. There are about 60 elephants housed here and you can see the elephants being given a bath and groomed for the temple festivities. If you are lucky enough, the mahout of the elephant might let you pet one of them (you better be nice and give him some money, he has an elephant under his control after all).
Other places(temples) to visit in and around Guruvayur:
- Venkatachalapathy Temple
- Nava Mukunda Temple
- Hari Kanyaka Temple
- Narayanam kulangara Temple
- Parthasarathy Temple
- Chowallur Siva Temple
- Chamundeswari Temple
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