ABOUT

Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu god Guruvayurappan, located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala, It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus of Kerala and is often referred to as Bhuloka Vaikunta ( Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth).Even though the idol in Guruvayoor is that of Vishnu it is still known as a Krishna temple since the boy Krishna is always said to be running around incognito in the temple precincts. Lord Krishna in Guruvayoor is popularly called Sri Guruvayoorappan. Appan means lord or father so the title means the Lord of Guruvayoor. The small deity is made of the stone known as black antimony and is a magnetic stone said to have special medicinal properties. Every morning the Lord is anointed in til oil. He is then sprinkled with a special restore powder made of herbs known as “vaka”. This powder is light brown in colour and gives an added hue to the idol. Crowds go to the temple at 3 A.M in order to see this charming sight. Then water from the temple, consecrated with mantras is poured over the deity for his custom bath. This holy water is then eagerly drunk by the devotees since it is said to contain a little of the amazing properties of the stone of which the idol is made.The presiding deity of the Guruvayur Temple is Vishnu, idolize in the form of his avatar Krishna. The central icon is a four-armed standing Vishnu carrying the conch Panchajanya, the discus Sudarshana Chakra, the mace Kaumodaki and a lotus with a Holy basil garland. This image represents the dignified form of Vishnu as revealed to Krishna's parents Vasudeva and Devaki around the time of Krishna's birth , this is the reason why Lord is worshipped in his baby form. Also, the temple is called ""Dwarka of South India"" due to Krishna's widespread presence.