A recent Pilgrimage to Guruvayoor and Nearby Temples .

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna ! Dandavat pranams to Bhagavan Sri Krishna and all Vaishnavas,

Bharat is a divine land consecrated by Rishis and vedic temples of worship . Guruvayoor temple has its unique glory and greatness, because of the proven divinity enshrined in it's Sanctum - Sanctorum (central shrine) and the supreme charm of the Deity . The presiding Deity in the Garbhagraha (central shrine) is Maha-Vishnu, worshipped according to the puja routines laid down by Adi Sankaracharya . Vaishnavas at large, invoke the Deity as Unnikrishna or Balakrishna .

Narayaneeyam says in it's opening sloka " Oh! blessed indeed is mankind, for in the temple of Guruvayoor there shines in all its effulgence, the Supreme Brahman itself, which is the ultimate goal of all human endeavor; which shines through a hundred scriptures and yet remains indistinct ; which is ever free; which is devoid of the limits of time and space ; which is incomparable; and which is the crystallized essence of Bliss and Knowledge " .

The Pilgrimage to Guruvayoor

We ( myself, wife and two sons aged 16 and 10 respectively) drove straight to Guruvayoor . Continuous singing of Sri Krishna- bhajans enlivened the journey . Heavy traffic and hazardous roads slowed us down and it threatened the possibility of the intended evening Darshan . We could reached Guurvayoor only by 8.30 PM and after a wild chase got a hotel accommodation next to the temple . After a quick bath we rushed to the temple , but the long "Queue" was a shocking sight , as the temple would close down in another 15 minutes . I urged everyone " Just chant Bhagavan Krishna's names . If He wants to see us, we will be given a darshan . Our duty is just to chant His names and leave the rest to Bhagavan . "

We all chanted Bhagavan's names continuously knowing that the entire temple premise is His physical body and Bhagavan is not constrained to the Sanctum sanctorum alone . Suddenly, the queue hastened up and we all received a beautiful Darshan of Sri Guruvayoorappan .

After leaving the temple , we had a quick dinner . For long, it was the desire of my ten year old younger son to see `Krishnanattam' ( a unique dance drama in Gururvayoor temple which is presented as routine offering to Bhagavan . It is staged only after the central shrine is closed after all the pujas . `Krishnanattam' is Bhagavan's favourite art and He is fond of participating in it ) . So, after a quick bath, both of us entered the temple to see `Krishnanattam' .

At 10 PM `Krishnanattam' started . The story (Kaliyamardhanam ) contained the following :

· Sri Krishna and Balrama accompanied by Cowherds arrive on the stage and bless the audience .

· Krishna and Balrama's beautiful sports and dance in Vrindavana .

· Demon serpent Kaliya unleashes terror in Kalindi river .

· Seeing the sufferings of His devotees, Krishna decides to fight Kaliya . He along with Balarama and cowherds arrive near Kalindi river .

· Krishna jumps into Kalindi river . Demon Kaliya attacks Krishna furiously and appears to be overpowering Him .

· Krishna's parents Nandagopa and Yashoda rush to Kalindi river and they were heartbroken to see their loving Krishna in the clutches of the venomous serpent Kaliya . Mother Yahoda cries aloud and faints . Nandagopa tries to jump into Kalindi to rescue Krishna , but Balarama prevents him from doing so .

· Seeing the agony of His dear ones, Krishna stops His acting of suffering . He quickly jumps on to the hoods of Kaliya and starts a furious dance which crushes the serpent . Finally, Kaliya is defeated totally , and is poised to be killed by Krishna .

· Seeing the dying condition of their husband , Kaliya's wives ( who are pious devotees of Krishna) arrive on the scene . They eulogize Bhagavan and beg Him spare the life of their husband .

· Listening to their pleas, Krishna frees the ailing Kaliya and blesses his wives .

· Krishna , Balarama and Gopies rejoice in Vrindavan .

· While the Gopis are bathing , Krishna steals their clothes and hang it on a tree .

· Krishna plays His Venu (flute ) , sitting atop the tree branch.

· The Gopies eualogize Krishna with folded hands . Krishna gives back their clothes and blesses them .

· Bhagavan Krishna blesses the audience by showering flowers .

This `Krishnanattam' was a divine experience indeed . We could really experience Bhagavan Krishna on the stage. His every move filled bliss in our heart . My young son told me that , while Krishna was playing the flute on stage, he heard the melodious `venu-gana' ( music of flute) emanating from somewhere .

The `Krishnanattam' finished at 1.30 AM . We returned to my hotel to freshen up quickly . I and sons proceeded to have a pleasant bath in the temple pond ( Rudratheertham) . Then we joined the queue of devotees seeking `nirmalya' (pre-dawn) darshan . Dutifully, we all were chanting Krishna's names continuously .

In spite of the long queue, myself had a blissful `Nirmalya darshan' at 3.10 AM . While coming out , my wife complained that she couldn't see Bhagavan properly . I replied that , it His choice . Immediately, there was movement from behind which landed us in the vacant area of queue enabling a prolonged Darshan .

Tears filled our eyes at the realization that Bhagavan Krishna has quenched the thirst of our hearts by giving us His enchanting darshan to our hearts' content .

Afterwards, all of us offered `Thulabharam' ( weighing with Sugar) to Bhagavan . Our hearts filled with bliss while this offering was being made to Bhagavan . Before leaving Guruvayoor temple. we collected Prasadam and thanked Guruvayoorappan once again for His infinite mercy .

Malliyoor Temple .

Later, we offered worship at the ancient `Mallliyoor' Lord Siva temple . (This is necessary to complete the pilgrimage to Guruvayoor) .

Thriprayar Sri Ramaswamy Temple .

This temple situating about 17 km away from Guruvayoor, is the most important Sri Rama temple in Kerala . Maha-Vishnu is worshipped here as Sri Rama .

( Tradition says that , `Malsyavatara' ( incarnation as Fish) happened in the river bed in front of this temple . So, Devotees feed grains to fish here .

During the infamous invasion of Muslim tyrant Tippu Sultan , Thriprayar temple was attacked . Tippu asked the Brahmana Melsanti ( Chief Pujari ) " Why do you worship this lifeless stone statue ? . You abandon it and accept Islam ".

Melsanti replied boldly " This is not a lifeless image . This is Bhagavan Sri Rama , Himself " .

This reply infuriated Tippu . He took out his sword and fiercely cut the archa Murty . The image broke into three . Blood started rushing out . But soon , the broken pieces joined together.

This miracle surprised everyone . It shocked Tippu . He expressed regret and before retreating offered lot of lands and money to the Thriprayar temple . Later , the temple authorities thought of replacing the archa Murty , but the Deity prevented them from doing so . As instructed by Him, a `Golaka' ( golden covering) was fixed on the Deity) .

We all had a nice darshan of Sri Ramaswamy , offered pujas and received His prasadam . We felt that this hitherto unplanned darshan was made possible only due to Bhagavan's mercy .

Kodungalloor Bhagavathy Temple .

By the time we left , Thriprayar temple it was 11. 20 AM . We wanted to offer worship at Kodungalloor Bhagavathy temple . We were too late and so doubtful to reach on time . However, I believed that , the Divine Mother Bhadrakali will not abandon those coming from Her beloved brother Narayana.

(Tradition says that , Kodungalloor temple is the topmost Bhadrakali temple in Kerala . From here Bhagavathy reached the other 64 Bhadrakali temples to bless Her devotees and to crush those `Mlecha' fanatics who were destroying vedic faith ) .

We arrived on time and had a very good darshan of Kodungalloor Devi . After offering pujas to Bhagavathy and receiving Her prasadam , our hearts were filled with joy .

On our way back , I narrated to my sons the historical events of Kodungalloor Bhagavathy `s divine interventions which defeated the massive religious conversions by `Mlechas' (meat eaters) in Kerala .

A Personal loss and recovery .

During the return journey , I lost my mobile phone somewhere . Lot of key information including ATM numbers were in it . So, it was a matter of great concern . However , I refused to blame anyone for the loss and left the matter entirely to my Ishta devata Sri Krishna .

Two days later, we received a telephone call from the manager of a shopping mall in Kochi , whose security guard retrieved a mobile phone lying on the road .

What more proof do I need to tell that , Bhagavan Sri Krishna is with His bhaktas at all times and takes care of them without being asked !!! .

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya !!!

Sri KrishnaDasa Rajeev

[Guest guest]

Krishna , Guruvayoorappa, Thanks for your e-mail . I wish to clarify as follows : 1. It was Mammiyoor temple . I had mistakingly mentioned as Malliyoor temple . I am sorry about this typo . 2. I agree with you about the divinity of mentioned nearby temples and it's Deities . In fact , we had offered worship to the parivaraDevatas of Guruvayoor temple , but it wasn't mentioned in my write-up. Each Deity has a unique divinity of it's own and therefore if a devotee is able to offer worship, it is good . 3. Our pilgrimage to Guruvayoor was in the mood of "Saranagathi" ( seeking total refuge in Sri Krishna and allowing things to happen according to His

wish) . Our initial plan was to visit only Guruvayoor . But on the the way to Guruvayoor, we happened to see Thriprayar Sri Rama temple . And then my younger son wanted to visit it while returning . So we took it as a 'nimitham' and tried to abide by it . Likewise , while returning , I got a feeling to visit Kodungalloor Bhagavathi , if time permits . Of course, time allowed us to offer worship to our beloved Kodungalloor Amma . There is a saying , if you do anything in the mood of total surrender to the Supreme Being , you will be guided in the best way . Hope, the above clarifies . Your servant, Krishnadaya.

NB : My mail has a problem . So I will send to you "Kuchelavrutham" using another one . -------------MANOJ KUMAR <manumenon71 wrote: Dear sir, I have gone through your detailed prilgrimmage report. Its really wonderful. I have a doubt, you have mentioned "Malliyoor temple". I assume that you have misspelt MAMMIYOOR TEMPLE . Or is there any other temple nearby as Malliyoor? ( please dont take my doubt in any bad sense ). Secondly, there are some more temples nearby (

Guruvayoor ) like Parthasarathy Temple & Thiruvenkidom Temple ( both located near the Railway station ), and Narayanankulangara Temple ( just a km from Mammiyoor Temple on the way to Punnathoor Aanakotta ). Also, there is a Ganapathi Prathishta ( very powerful ) infront of the Guruvayoor temple, near Melpathur auditorium ( inside the compound of old guruvayoor devaswom office ). Hope this info will be useful to you for ur future visits to guvuvayoor. It will be highly appreciated if you could send Kuchelavrutham malayalam to my e mail. Manoj Guruvayoor ----------- Check out what you're missing if you're not on Messenger

 

Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check out

new cars at Autos.