Guruvayur

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Guruvayoor |
Guruvayur_town_view
type = city | latd = 10.6|longd=76.05
state_name = Kerala
district = Thrissur
leader_title =
leader_name =
altitude =
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 21,187| population_density =
area_magnitude= sq. km
area_total =
area_telephone = + 91 0487
postal_code = 680101
vehicle_code_range = KL-46
sex_ratio =
unlocode =
website =
footnotes =

Guruvayur (also written Guruvayoor) is a small town in Thrissur district in the Indian state of Kerala. It lies 25 km to the north west of Thrissur City.

Temple

Guruvayur is most famous for its temple [ [http://www.guruvayurdevaswom.org Guruvayur Devaswom ] ] , which is many centuries old and one of the most important in Kerala. The temple's deity is Lord Guruvayurappan in the form of Balagopalan (Krishna in the form of a child). While Non-Hindus are not permitted to enter the temple, Sri Guruvayurappan has a strong non hindu believers.

Krishnanattam Kali was the root cause of the initial development of the world famous dance-drama form of Kathakali. Krishnanattam, whose verses are in Sanskrit, was originated and preserved only at Guruvayurappan temple. In addition, Guruvayur temple is also famous for two renowned literary works - Narayaneeyam by Melpathoor Narayana Bhattathiri and Jnanappana by Poonthanam, both of which were written by two of the ardent devotees of Lord Krishna sitting in Guruvayur temple. While Narayaneeyam is a brisk walk through of the Dasaavatharam (10 incarnations of Maha Vishnu) in Sanskrit, Jnanappana is in Mayalayalam invoking the naked truths of life preaching the does and dont's for human beings.

Management of the Temple is done by Guruvayur Devaswom Management Committee under the directions of Government of Kerala. The temporary members of committee are "nominated" by the ruling party of the Government of Kerala from time to time. Permanent members are the current heands of the families of Chennas Mana (the heridatory Thanthri of the temple), Samuthiri and Mallisseri Mana.

Legend

The most prominent legend regarding the temple's statuette ('murthi' is preferred) relates to Guru Brihaspathi and Vayu, the Wind God.

At the start of the current "yuga", Brihaspathi found a floating statuette of Lord Krishna. He and Vayu installed the statuette in this temple to help mankind in this "yuga". This legend forms the basis for the names of both the statuette (Guruvayurappan) and the town. [ [http://www.religiousportal.com/GuruvayoorTemple.html Guruvayoor Temple,Guruvayur temple,Guruvayur legend ] ]

Other Attractions

Another attraction is the famous Elephant Sanctuary (Punnathur kotta) near the temple where elephants are trained for temple purposes. There are currently more than 60 elephants, all of whom were offered by devotees of Lord Guruvayurappan.

The temple is a main site for Hindu marriages. a record number of marriages take place each day at the temple some times crossing 100 in a single day. Devotees of guruvayurappan think it is a blessing to start married life in front of the lord.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has recently started on its center and guest house for pilgrims to the town.

Transport

Buses operate every few minutes from Thrissur Shaktan Thampuran Bus Stand. Buses also operate from Ernakulam,North Paravur, Kottayam, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Kodungallur and Trivandrum. Passenger trains operate from the station to Thrissur and Kochi, as well as an overnight express train to Trivandrum and further to Chennai. Cochin International Airport, the nearest airport, is some 80 km. from Guruvayur. if you are coming from calicut it will take approximately 2 hrs to reach guruvayoor by bus. Guruvayur has a single plat form railway station with a few daily services.

Demographics

As of the Indian census of 2001 [GR|India] , Guruvayur had a population of 21,187. Males constitute 46% of the population and females 54%. Guruvayur has an average literacy rate of 85%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 86%, and female literacy is 85%. In Guruvayoor, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

=Satellite

* [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&num=200&start=196&t=k&msa=0&msid=114038809751246788218.000440d8cff499fc85a7c&ll=10.595283,76.040475&spn=0.006549,0.009345&z=17 Satellite image of the temple.]

ee also

* Thrissur District
* Guruvayoorappan
* Guruvayur Temple
* Punnathur kotta

References

External links

* [http://www.guruvayoor.com/ Guruvayoor.com Web abode of Guruvayoorappan]
* [http://www.krishnakripa.com Krishna Kripa]
* [http://www.religiousportal.com/GuruvayoorTemple.html Read Deatils about Sri Guruvayur Temple]