COIMBATORE TO OOTY

---

I am Boarded the coimbatore bound ABT travels volvo bus at 11 pm and reached around 8am in Coimbatore .Had booked a cab from Adithtya Travels Coimbatore .The contact person is Mr Vinod (09944003594) and the driver was Ramesh (08015537190) .The service of the driver was simply outstanding.We had booked a Toyota Qualis and the charges were Rs 1350 per day + Rs 6.00 per Km traveled.It was a private vehicle so we did not pay the kerala state taxes. After having breakfast in coimbatore we started towards Guruvayoor


It was really an enjoyable trip. We reached Guruvayur at around 2 PM. Since we were very hungry, we headed for a good hotel on the east nada, quite close to the temple premises. The food was awesome, with a great deal of traditional Kerala varieties like Avial, Sambandhi, kerala papad, etc. I really relished the food. Since the temple is usually closed from 12 noon to 4:30 PM everyday, we did some shopping after lunch. I purchased some devotional CDs and casettes from the shops surrounding the temple.
We came return to Guruvayur Shri Krishna (Guruvayurappan) temple at around 4:25 pm. Almost half the queue complex outside the temple was already full by the time we reached. There is no concept of buying tickets and getting a special darshan here either. If one doesn’t want to go to the inner sanctum of Guruvayurappan, then there is another entrance through which one can go near the dhwajastambham of the temple alone. The temple has a tank called rudra tIrtam, which is next to this entrance.
As soon as the temple opened and people were let in, there was no pushing and shoving and people were, surprisingly, moving at a leisurely pace. This made the wait also less tiring since one didn’t have to stand in the same place for more than 5 minutes. Also, there was a dance arangETram happening on the stage outside the temple with a variety of dance forms like Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and others.
It took us about an hour to reach the entrance of the temple. The single line queue suddenly wasn’t there anymore and that’s when all the pushing started!
A dhwajastambham and a couple of lamps with Tortoise base similar to the one outside the temple are there near the entrance to the inner prAkAram. A pillar near this entrance has a sculpture of a snake. Two ivory tusks and a picture of the famous elephant Kesavan are there above the entrance. The walls on both sides of the entrance have sculptures of the ashTa Lakshmis. The walls have rows and rows of lamps. By the time we reached this entrance, all the lamps on the walls were lighted and it presented a beautiful sight.
The beautiful main idol of Shri Guruvayurappan is clearly visible from this entrance. A small 4-pillared mandapam is there in front of the Guruvayurappan sannidhi. One has to go around it to go near the sannidhi. This mandapam has a very beautiful sculpture of Radha & Krishna on at least two of its pillars. Thanks to the crowd, I couldn’t see if the same sculptures were there on the other two pillars also. The outer walls of the sanctum sanctorum housing Guruvayurappan have colourful paintings.
Surrounding the Guruvayurappan sannidhi are sannidhis of Vinayaka, Murugan, Adisesha Ranganatha Perumal and Iyyappan. The Vinayaka sannidhi has a small sculpture of Gajalakshmi above the entrance to it. The pillars in the prAkAram housing all these sannidhis have lots of beautiful sculptures including an avatAram of Vishnu each on a row of 10 pillars, Hanuman, navanIta Krishnan with 2 pots, Rama with Sita, Lakshmana & Hanuman, etc.
Back on the outer prAkaram, there are pillars adorned with bronze vaazhaitthaar with vaazhaipoo. There are pillars having sculptures of Kathakali-modeled sculptures of dasAvataram, Adi Shankara, etc.
The temple is a major venue for Hindu marriages in Kerala. A record number of marriages take place each day at the temple—sometimes crossing 100 in a single day. Devotees of Lord Guruvayurappan think it is highly auspicious to start married life in front of the lord.
Another attraction is the famous elephant sanctuary (Punnathur kotta) near the temple where jumbo elephants are trained for temple purposes. The sanctuary currently has more than 60 elephants, all of whom were offered by devotees of Lord Guruvayurappan. One of the leading elephant names associated with the temple is that of Guruvayur Kesavan which was a legendary elephant. It has found a place in the temple's folklore.
If you are visiting Guruvayoor Temple the visit is not complete without visiting the near by Shiva Temple at Mammiyoor. There are other temples of interest if you have a day extra. Head to Thrissur (or Trichur) to see Lord Vadakkunnathan.The famous Thrissur Pooram is held at Swaraj round around this temple. Near by you can visit Paramelkavu (bhagavaty) Temple and Thuruvampadi Krishna temple. Then head to Irinjalakkuda to see Sangameshwarar at Koodalmanikyam temple. From there visit Peruvanom (lord shiva) and then head to Thriprayar ( Lord Rama).

---