Narayan Ravi - Mumbai

Pavanapuresha-Series

Pavanapuresha series part 3: Transfer to Ambalapuzha & the story of the Pandya king:

In 1789 AD, Tipu Sultan invaded the Malabar region in an attempt to root out the Cochin king's rule and convert Hindus to Islam. Fearing the destruction of the deity, the mulavigraha was hidden underground & the utsava vigraha was taken to Ambalapuzha. Tipu set fire to the temple, looted it & destroyed smaller shrines when there came a great shower of rain & a celestia voice commanding him to stop his crimes. Tipu was driven out by the Zamorin princes (the 'Samoothiri' rajas of Cochin) & the British. Thereafter the utsava vigraha was brought back from Ambalapuzha & the mulavigraha hidden underground was reinstalled on Sept 17, 1792. Even today, a small shrine marks the spot where Guruvayurappa resided in Ambalapuzha for nearly 3 years.

The story of the Pandya king:

A Pandya king was once told by his astrologer that he was destined to die from a cobra bite. He went on a pilgrimage, thinking that if he could not change his destiny, he would atleast spend his last days in sacred temples. Thus he came to Guruvayur & prayed day and night with great devotion. He was so engrossed in prayer that he did not notice the passage of time. One day he found to his great amazement that the time of his death had long passed by. He went back to his kingdom and asked his astrologer to explain the reason for it. The astrologer said that the king had indeed been bitten by a cobra as could be seen from a scar left behind on his heel. But since the king was absorbed in deep prayer to Lord Guruvayurappa in His abode where the divine snake Ananta is forever present, he was saved. The king recalled that he had been thinking of building a new temple to Sri Guruvayurappa. Full of gratitude, the king returned to Guruvayur with men and material and had the temple reconstructed. Such is the divine play of the Lord. May Narayana bless one and all. Hare Krishna.

Hare Krishna