How Guruvayur Temple Became a pilgrimage Center

The Guruvayur temple is considered the ancient Hindu temple and the major pilgrimage center in Kerala. It is also known as the “Dwaraka of the south”.

The supreme deity of Guruvayur temple is lord Krishna worshipped in the bala Krishna form that represents the innoscence and divinity.

It is believed that the idol of lord Krishna is around 5000 years old. Based on Hindu mythology the temple was consecrated by the deva guru, Brihaspathi, and the vayu ( wind god).

The Guruvayur temple is one of the important pilgrimage sites of Kerala and it is called the Dwaraka of the south.

The ruler of Calicut known as Zamorins played a fabulous role in the development of the Guruvayur temple and it made the temple more popular among the devotees.

The temple faced a lot of adversities including the invasion of Dutch rulers and tipu sultan during the 14th and 18th centuries and the temple lost everything in fire.

But the idol of the lord Krishna and the other deities were still preserved by the devotees and it is re-installed.

In 1970, the temple was again destroyed due to fire and the collective efforts of the devotees helped the reconstruction of the temple with more pride.

The temple was not accessible for the devotees who belonged to the lower castes so during the 20th century massive protests are conducted under the guidance of k. kelappan who is known as the kerala Gandhi. This helped the devotes to enter the temple irrespective of caste.

The temple also witnessed lots of adversities historical events and miracles too.

This led the temple to become more popular and made it a must-visit place for hindus for seeking spiritual happiness.