Guruvayur Temple History
The history of the Guruvayur temple, located in Thrissur district of Kerala dates back to a period 5000 years ago, though documentary evidence is not available to substantiate it.
The chief deity of the temple is Shri Guruvayurappan, (Lord Vishnu) in his earthly form of Lord Krishna.
It is estimated by historians that Guruvayur temple must have been existing since 52 A.D . Historical documents mention of Brahmins settling in Kodungaloor region during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya.
This period could be sometime between 320-290 B.C and there are mentions of a place called "Thrikannamathilakam" or present day Mathilakam , not very far away from Guruvayur.
Guruvayur temple is believed to be a subsidiary of the shrine in Mathilakam. It is very popularly known as "Bhooloka Vaikuntham" translated as the "earthly abode as Lord Vishnu".
Guruvayur Temple History-Early legend.
The earliest legend states that King Janamejaya (a king belonging to Vedic period and son of king Parikshit, nephew of Yudhisthira) wanted to kill all the serpents in the world because they were responsible for his father Parikshit's death.
He conducted a sacrificial fire and killed many serpents . But when king of snakes , Takshaka was about to be killed, he was stopped by a brahmin called Astika.
As a curse of having killed hundreds of snakes, it is believed that Janamejaya suffered from leprosy. Despite various treatments, he continued to suffer immensely.
Sage Atreya advised him then to seek refuge in the feet of Lord Shri Krishna, in Guruvayur ,who is known to shower blessings on his devotees.
Janamejaya spent the next ten months in Guruvayur worshipping Lord Shri Krishna and turned healthy with the blessings of the lord.
It is believed that during this time he escaped the venomous fangs of serpents too, because he was with Lord Shri Krishna, also the brother of emperor of serpents- Anantha.
Janamejaya's happiness on recovering from his health condition made him build a large temple here devoted to the lord, and the temple came into being.
Guruvayur Temple History-Before British
Guruvayur temple finds a mention in the 14th century Tamil literature "Kokasandesam" by the name "Kuruvayur" which means "place by the sea" in ancient Tamil.
Temple records from the 17th century are actually the first documented evidences pertaining to the temple history. The Alwar saints from Tamil Nadu have penned many devotional songs on Shri Krishna temples of Kerala.
There are references to Lord Shri Krishna of Guruvayur temple in these devotional songs but somehow the exact period is not yet ascertained in the history.
It is estimated that Guruvayur temple had become a major pilgrimage centre in Kerala among Malayalees towards the end of the 16th century.
Guruvayur Temple History-during British era
Guruvayur temple faced many attacks during the periods between 1716 and 1792. The Dutch attacked the temple and treasures were stolen. The western Gopuram was completely destroyed but later restored.
Subsequently they also attacked Thrikannamathilikam as mentioned earlier, in 1755 of which the Guruvayur temple was a subsidiary. The temple was also completely destroyed and history does not mention of any restoration.
Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore attacked Guruvayur temple in 1766 A.D after he conquered Kozhikode and demanded as 10,000 fanams as ransom in order to spare the temple.
The temple was spared however, due to to an administrative strategy of the Governor of Malabar, Srinivasa Rao .
Tipu Sultan invaded Guruvayur in 1789 A.D and set fire to the temple structure at various places. If it had not been for a heavy rain (divine intervention as devotees would suggest) , the entire structure would have razed to ground.
It has been widely reported that the idol of Shri Guruvayurappan was hidden underground anticipating the invasion of Tipu Sultan. The idol was later re-installed in the sanctum sanctorum in 1792 once the threat of invasion waned.
The temple was looked after by Ullanad Panikkars between 1825 and 1900 and various places like Chuttambalam, Koothamabalam and shrine of Sasta were renovated. For the first time , the roof was copper sheeted.
The pathayapura or the granary was reconstructed and the temple had fixed worship hours under the administratorship of Konti Menon. The temple became spotlessly clean and the big bell which stands today was set up by him in 1900.
Melpathur's (a staunch Guruvayurappan devotee and a mathematical linguist ) Narayaneeyam- a masterpiece work of sanskrit poetical shlokas (hymns) in praise of the lord brought the temple and the presiding deity into limelight. (1560-1646)
Other prominent devotees like Poonthanam, Vilwamanagalam and Kururamma brought the concept of "Unnikrishnan" (baby Krishna) and the bhakti movement surrounding the temple reached new heights.
Present Day
The temple is now governed by the Guruvayur devaswam , a temple administrative body under the government of Kerala. The worship rituals are followed as established by Sri Adi Sankaracharya.
The tantric rituals have been established by the Chennas Nambooodiris(Brahmins) who are the hereditary high priests of the temple as long as the 14th century.
The main festivals in the temple are Guruvayur Ekadasi in the Malayalam month of Vrischikam , Shri Krishna Janmashtami (Malayalam month of Chingam ) and the ten days festival starting with Malayalam star pooyam.
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