INTRODUCTION

                                                   Sri Krishna took birth in the city of Mathura, on the banks of the Yamuna , probably three thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The purpose of his avatara or descent to earth was to destroy adharma and to reveal to the world the splendor of God. He is called the Purnacatara of Vishnu, that is , the full manifestation of Lord Supreme, as contrasted with the other incarnations who were only partial revelations of the of the  God-head.

                                                  Even as a boy, he performed many marvelous deeds that testified to his being God incarnate on the earth. The destruction of the demons Putana, the revelation of his cosmic form, Viswarupa, as he opened his mouth to his foster mother, Yasoda, the lifting up of the mountain Govardhana, the overcoming of  Kaliya, the serpent who fouled the waters of the Yamuna, the devouring of the forest conflagration and, to crown it all, his amorous dalliance with the Gopis are some of the wondrous acts of his early boyhood --- acts that indicated how he combined human and divine traits.

                                                 The glory of Guruvăyur was revealed by the sage Dattatreya to King Janamejaya, the son of Parikshit. According to King Janamejaya, the son of Parikshit. According to the sage, the image at Guruvăyur was originally worshipped by the lord himself at Dwaraka, how it was rescued from the great deluge and finally installed at Guruvăyur to protect mankind from the evils of Kaliyuga.

                                                 Bhaktakavi Meppattur Narayana Bhattatiri describes the greatness of the Lord of Guruvăyur in the opening stanza of his immortal work Nărăyanďyam thus:

           Săndrănandăvabodhătmakamanupamitam  kăladesăvadhibhyăm        

           Nirmuktăm nityamuktam  nigimasatasahasrena    nirbhăsyamănam

           Aspastam   drstamătre   punarurupurusărthătmakam   brahmatatvam

           Tattăvadbhăti  saksăd  gurupavanapure  hanta  bhăgyam  janănăm

*Meaning for the above poem

(Oh! blessed indeed are the citizens of Guruvăyur! for there shines before their very eyes that Supreme Brahman, which is the ultimate goal of all human endeavor; which shines through a hundred thousand scriptures and yet remains indistinct; which is ever free; which is devoid of the limits of the time and space; which is incomparable; and which is the crystallized essence of Bliss and Knowledge.)

A well-stocked library of books on religion, philosophy, art and culture is also run by the Devaswam. Encouragement of temple arts like Krishnăttam (Dance of Krishna) unique to this temple and Kerala percussion instruments like Chenda, Edakka, etc., is another sphere in which the temple authorities help with funds.

On November 30, 1970, a disastrous fire broke out in the temple. It raged for nearly five hours and destroyed a major portion of the building. But, fortunately, the Srikoil (the sanctum sanctorum), housing the deity of Guruvăyurappan, and the subsidiary shrines of Ganapathi, Ayyappan and the Devi, as also the flag-staff, remained unaffected. This is indeed the greatest lilă of therefore, that in keeping with our age-old tradition this immortal temple will rise up again with added glory and splendor to delight the devout hearts of thousands of worshippers.

Narayana!              Narayana!             Narayana!