Narayan Ravi - Mumbai

Pavanapuresha-Series

Guruvayur, revered as Bhooloka Vaikuntham - Vaikuntha on earth, is a haven of peace and is forever charged with divine energy. A place where every muscle, every vein in the body pulsates and throbs with a surcharge of devotion, the abode of the Supreme Lord Krishna. One can go on talking about Guruvayur forever. This series, which I shall call the 'Pavanapuresha Series', is a humble attempt to help spread the glory of Guruvayur and to bring people closer to the Supreme Master, the Lord of Lords, Krishna. May Guruvayurappa bless one and all. Hare Krishna!

Pavanapuresha series Part 1: The origin.

The deity at Guruvayur is exactly like Sri Mahavishnu Himself - and He was the first one to worship it. He gave it to Brahma and by the grace of this deity, Brahma was able to carry out the task of creation. There lived a couple by the name of Sutapa & Prishni who had no children and prayed to Lord Brahma for the gift of a son. Brahma gave them the deity(who we now see at Guruvayur). Pleased by their sincere devotion, Mahavishnu appeared before them. 3 times they asked Him for a son, & He said 'Tathastu - so be it' each time. He said that He Himself would be born as their son in each birth & that they would have the good fortune of worshipping the deity each time. Prishni soon gave birth to a son called Prishnigarbha. In the next birth, as Kashyapa Maharshi & his wife Aditi, Mahavishnu was born as Vamana. In their 3rd birth they were born as Vasudeva & Devaki, & Sri Krishna Himself was born as their son. When Krishna moved to Dwaraka, He installed the deity in a temple & worshipped it after the death of His parents.

At the time of His Swargarohana(ascent to heaven), Krishna asked Uddhava, His foremost disciple & devotee to entrust the image to the care of Guru(Devaguru Brihaspati) & Vayu, the lord of the winds. After wandering all over India, Guru & Vayu finally entered Kerala via Palakkad, where they were met by Parasurama who was also in search of the same image, as a solution to the suffering of people affected by rheumatism.

Together they reached the Rudratirtha, the temple tank at Guruvayur where Siva & Parvathi welcomed them. Siva performed abhisheka to the deity & said that the place would be known as 'Guruvayupuram'. Siva & Parvathi moved to Mammiyur on the opposite bank of the Rudratirtha. It was due to Siva's greatness in giving up His place for Mahavishnu that the place came to be known as 'Mahimayur', later shortened to 'Mammiyur'. Guruvayurappa was thus duly installed over a period of 10 days, in a temple constructed by Vishwakarma, the architect of the Gods. To commemorate this, the annual temple festival is held every year in the month of Kumbham (Feb-March), from the day of the Pushya star to the Anuradha star. May Guruvayurappa bless one and all. Hare Krishna

Hare Krishna