01Guru and Vayu
The temple’s katha says this murti was worshipped by Vasudeva and Devaki, and by Krishna himself at Dwarka. When Dwarka was to sink into the sea, Krishna told Uddhava that Brihaspati, guru of the devas, would carry it to a fitting place. Brihaspati and Vayu found the lake at Rudratirtha, where Mahadev was in tapas, and with his blessing installed the murti on its bank. The place took their names, Guru and Vayu. Mammiyur Mahadeva temple close by is still visited by pilgrims for that reason. Darshan at Nirmalyam, around 3 a.m., when the previous day’s flowers are removed, draws the largest crowds.
02Narayaniyam, raids and a fire
Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, crippled by rheumatism, sat in the temple and condensed the Bhagavata Purana into 1,036 verses, one dashaka a day for a hundred days. He finished the Narayaniyam in 1586 and, the tradition says, was cured. The temple then lay under the Zamorins. In 1716 a Dutch force plundered it and set fire to the western side. During Tipu Sultan’s invasion of Malabar in 1789 the main murti was buried for safety and the utsava murti carried to Ambalappuzha in Travancore; it came home only after the danger passed. In the Guruvayur Satyagraha of 1931–32, led by K. Kelappan, devotees demanded entry for all Hindus. On 30 November 1970 a fire gutted the outer structures, yet the sanctum and murti were unharmed.
The life of this place
- 1586Melpathur completes the Narayaniyam at the temple.
- 1716Dutch troops plunder the temple and set fire to its western side.
- 1789During Tipu Sultan’s invasion the murti is hidden and the utsava murti taken to Ambalappuzha.
- 1931–32Guruvayur Satyagraha for the entry of all Hindus.
- 1947The temple is opened to all Hindus under the Madras Temple Entry Authorisation Act.
- 30 November 1970Fire destroys the outer structures; the sanctum survives.
Only Hindus may enter. Men wear a mundu without a shirt; the temple elephants are kept at Punnathur Kotta, about 3 km away.
