Guruvayurappan
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Guruvayurappan | |
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God of Preservation God of Guruvayur | |
Sanskrit transliteration | Guruvāyūrappan |
Sanskrit, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Gujarati | गुरुवायूर् अप्पऩ्, ഗുരുവായൂരപ്പന്, குருவாயூரப்பன், ಗುರುವಾಯೂರಪ್ಪ,గురువాయూరప్ప, गुरुवायूरप्पन्, ગુરુવાયુરપ્પં |
Affiliation | Vaishnavism, Krishnaism |
Abode | Vaikuntha |
Planet | Bhuloka |
Mantra | Om Namo Narayanaya |
Weapon | Sudarshana Chakra, Panchajanya, Kaumodaki |
Symbol | Padma (Vishnu) |
Mount | Garuda |
Consort | Lakshmi |
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Hinduism |
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Guruvayurappan (
Even though the deity is that of chaturbahu (four-handed) Vishnu, the sankalpam (concept) of the worshipers is that the deity is the infant form of Krishna. The deity represents the purna rupa (full manifestation) revealed by baby Krishna to his parents Vasudeva and Devaki immediately after his advent in Kamsa's jail. Hence, the deity represents both Krishna and Vishnu.
Etymology
The word Guruvayurappan (meaning 'Father / Lord of Guruvayur') originates from the amalgamation of the two words: Guru (ഗുരു) referring to
Guru and Vayu brought the presiding idol of the deity Krishna to present-day Guruvayur. The name Guruvayurappan was given to the deity.[2][3]
Iconography
It is believed that the idol of Guruvayurappan was worshipped by Vasudeva and Devaki, the parents of Krishna, and represents the full manifestation of Vishnu, and was worshipped by Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu. The deity is made of a stone called Patala Anjanam ('black bismuth'), and is in the standing pose with four arms, carrying the
Mythological origin
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2018) |
Chapter of Vishnu
King
Long ago, in the beginning of Padma Kalpa,[a] when Brahma was undergoing his work of creation, Vishnu appeared before him. When the creator deity[b] said that he and his creations wanted mukti (liberation) without the bondage of karma, Vishnu made an idol of himself and presented it to his friend. Brahma worshipped the idol with deep obeisance for a long time, and in the Varaha Kalpa, he gifted it to a sage named Sutapas and his wife Prashni, who were meditating upon Vishnu for begetting a child. Sutapas and Prashni continued their prayer after getting the idol, and finally Vishnu appeared before them. When they expressed their wish—that they wanted a son just like Vishnu—he told them that he would himself be born as their son in three successive births, and in all the three births, they could worship his idol.
Chapter of Krishna
The first birth occurred in the Satya Yuga, when Vishnu took form as Prsnigarbha, the son of Sutapas and Prashni. In this birth, he prophesied the importance of brahmacharya and offered darshana (a divine view of his form) to his devotee Dhruva, to whom he made a realm called Dhruvaloka. In the Treta Yuga, when Sutapas and Prashni were reborn as Kashyapa and Aditi, Vishnu was born as their son Vamana. Finally, in the Dvapara Yuga, when they were reborn as Vasudeva and Devaki, Vishnu was born as their eighth son, Krishna. In all the three births, they had the fortune to worship the holy idol of Vishnu made by Vishnu himself.
After returning from his studies, Krishna took the idol worshipped by his parents to Dvaraka, his new abode. He built a temple for the idol here, and daily worshipped the idol with deep veneration (despite himself being an avatar of Vishnu). Finally, the Dvapara Yuga came to an end. Now, it was time for Vishnu to return to his Vaikuntha, his original abode. Before leaving, he told his friend and disciple Uddhava that Dvaraka would suffer a deluge in a week, and the lone non-natural survivor of the flood would be the divine idol worshipped by his parents in his three births. He advised Uddhava to hand over the idol to Brihaspati, the Guru of the Devas, and leave for Badrikashram to perform a penance for the rest of his life.
As Vishnu had prophesied, a huge deluge destroyed Dvaraka. Only the top of a huge mountain survived. Uddhava had sent a message to Brihaspati about the idol and left for Badrikashram. When Brihaspati reached Dvaraka, he saw the holy idol of Vishnu floating upon the seawater, but could not reach it. He called upon Vayu, the wind god and one among his important disciples. Vayu, with the help of Varuna, the sea god, created huge waves to wash the idol towards Brihaspati, who took it. Suddenly, the sage Parashurama appeared, and told them to install the idol in an appropriate location in Bhargava Kshetra,[c] the land he had created with his axe.
According to the wishes of the sage, Brihaspati and Vayu took the idol on their hands, and travelled southwards through the sky to find an appropriate location in the Bhargava Kshetra. On the western side of Bhargava Kshetra, very close to the sea, they saw a large, beautiful lake surrounded by lush, idyllic greenery. Brihaspati and Vayu realised that there was something divine about this place. They saw Shiva and his consort Parvati dancing on the lake shore. Brihaspati and Vayu landed on the ground and prostrated before the divine couple. Shiva told them that he had been waiting for their arrival, and that the perfect spot for installing the idol of Vishnu was none other the place that they were standing.[d] Shiva then declared that since the idol would be installed by Brihaspati the Guru and Vayu, the place would be called 'Guruvayur', and the devotees would find solace here from the troubles of the Kali Yuga.
After hearing this, Brihaspati called
After hearing this story, Janamejaya proceeded to Guruvayur along with his family, and stayed there for a year. During these days, he worshipped Vishnu with much devotion, and also visited the Mammiyur temple to worship Shiva. Finally, on the day before the end of his worship, he had a darshana of Krishna, after which his disease was cured.
Regional myths
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2024) |
King and the cobra
An astrologer told a
Most of the current temple building dates to the 16th and 17th centuries, although devotees funded extensions and additions later. The deepastamba (column of lights) was erected in 1836 by a devotee from Thiruvananthapuram. The temple has gopurams in the east and the west. The eastern gopuram has an inscription which refers to the town as "Gurupavanapura". The western gopuram was built in 1747.[6][5]
King Manaveda told
The next day, the Swamiyar told him that Guruvayurappan has given his consent—Manavedan was permitted to see (but not touch) Guruvayurappan playing in the early hours of the morning at the platform of the Elanji tree. But, when Manavedan saw Guruvayurappan in the form of little child Krishna, he was so excited that he forgot himself and rushed to embrace little Krishna. Guruvayoorappan immediately disappeared saying, "Vilwamangalam did not tell me that this will happen". However, Manavedan got one peacock feather from the headgear of Bhagavan Krishna.The peacock feather was incorporated in the headgear for the character of Krishna in the dance drama
Shopkeeper and boy
Once, a poor, hungry boy stole a banana from a nearby fruit shop. Being a devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan, he dropped half the banana into the 'hundi', and he ate the other half. The shopkeeper caught hold of the boy and accused him of the theft. The boy admitted his guilt. The shopkeeper did not have the heart to punish this innocent boy, but to teach him a lesson, he ordered him to walk around the temple a certain number of times. The shopkeeper was aghast when he saw Lord Guruvayurappan follow the little boy around the temple. That night, God came to the shopkeeper in a dream and explained, "Since I have also had a share in the stolen banana, I am bound to share the punishment, too. So, I followed the boy around the temple."[10]
Nenmini Unni
Once, a Nenmini Namboodiri, the main priest (melsanthi) at the Guruvayur Temple, instructed his twelve-year-old son, Unni, to offer the
Nenmini family is still lives in Guruvayur, and is wealthy. It also sponsors the
Poonthanam and Melpathur
See also
- Guruvayoor Temple
- Guruvayoor
Notes
- Lord Brahma, who is the Creator god in the Hindu mythology.
- ^ According to Hindu mythology, Lord Brahma is one among the Trimurtis, along with Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, though worshipped rarely. He undergoes the job of creating the universe, while Lord Vishnu preserves it and Lord Shiva destroys it.
- ^ Bhargava means the descendant of Bhrigu. Sage Parashurama, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was a descendant of sage Bhrigu, and thus he was called Bhargava or Bhargava Rama (The latter being told to differentiate him from Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who was called Raghava and Raghurama being the descendant of King Raghu. Bhargava Kshetra is considered to be the land between Kanyakumari in the south and Gokarna in the north, which mainly includes the present-day Kerala, but now also includes parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states too.
- ^ He also said this location was where the ten princes called Prachetas came for penance upon Vishnu for attaining the status of Prajapati, and he discoursed Rudra Gita to them.
- ^ Shiva and Parvati, who had been present throughout the divine moment, later shifted themselves to Mammiyur, a place on the opposite bank of the lake, where they appeared as a Swayambhu Linga along with their children Ganesha, Kartikeya and Shasta.
References
- ^ "The Hindu : Front Page : Dress code relaxed in Guruvayur". www.hindu.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ Guruvayur website
- ^ "Guruvayoor Sri Krishna Temple|Ancient temples|Indian Panorama". www.indianpanorama.in. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ "Guruvayur Devaswom". www.guruvayurdevaswom.org. Archived from the original on 29 April 2005.
- ^ a b "Origin of Guruvayoorappan". GURUVAYOORAPPAN.
- ^ "Guruvayur Devaswom". www.guruvayurdevaswom.org. Archived from the original on 16 February 2005.
- ^ "Sangeethasabha: Manavedan's 'Krishnageethi'-the story". 5 August 2010.
- ^ "Guruvayoorappan - Story, Miracles, Slokas, Guruvayur Temple". 13 March 2017.
- ^ Krishnanattam - History and Origin chintha.com Archived 29 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine .
- ^ Lilas of Lord Guruvayurappan madhuramurali.org
- ^ Sevak (31 January 2013). "Stories Related to Guruvayur | Holy Dham". Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ "Stage for Bhakti". The Hindu. 17 September 2010.
- ^ "To lovers of Krishna, in Tamil". The Hindu. 19 July 2012.
External links
- Official website Archived 23 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Bhaktaranjini – A Commentary on Srimad Narayaneeyam