Guruvayoor Sree Krishna Temple, Kerala

The Guruvayoor Temple is nearly 29 km north-west in the Thrissur. The Guruvayoor temple got its name from the word Guruvayoorappan meaning Lord of Guruvayur. It is a most popular Krishna temple which is considered to be very inspirational to the Hindus. Interestingly, though it is known to be one of porous one for Vaishnavites, the shrine does not feature in the 108 Divya Desams. The beautiful idol of Sree Krishna placed in the temple discloses four arms holding the mace Kaumodaki, the discus Sudarshana Chakra, the lotus and the gastropod Panchajanya. 

The temple is almost 5000 year old. According to the historic records, this temple was built by an architect named Vishwakarman. It is said that the grand son of Arjuna of Mahabharata prayed to lord Krishna at this temple and got cured of leprosy. The place is also famous as Dwarka of the south as the idol here represents the splendid form of Vishnu that was disclosed to Devaki and Vasudeva. The idol seen is decorated with the sacred Tulsi garland. What makes the idol of this temple even more enticing is the fact that it has been inscribed from Pathalanjana Sila, which is evidently a very holy material. The sculpture of this divine shrine has designed it such that on summer days, the first rays of the sun are seen washing the Lord's feet. 

Maha Vishnu is the controlling divinity in the sanctum-sanctorum facing towards the east. The pooja of this idol is executed as per the routines put forth by Adi Sankaracharya which were ceremonially written in the Tantric manner by Chennas Narayanan Namboodiri. The latter are considered to be the traditional Tantris of the Guruvayoor temple. The routine involves the Chief Priest or Melsanti  stepping into the Sri Kovil at around 2:30 a.m. and not consuming even water until the noon poojas have been completed around 12:30 p.m. The Guruvayoor Temple Tank in the temple's northern side is considered to be a divine place too. Apparently Lord Shiva did his tapas while worshiping Lord Vishnu below the waters of this holy tank. The tank is so called as Rudra-Theertham. This beautiful temple boasts of mesmerizing paintings, nakkashi and murals depicting the life stages and stories of Lord Krishna. Only Hindus are allowed to enter this temple. Marriages are also conducted here. The temple can be visited all through the year with special days like 'Ekadasi'. In terms of climatic conditions, December to February is great for tourists.