page_title: Guruvayurappan
section_title: Construction of the temple
hierarchical_section_title: Guruvayurappan / Construction of the temple
caption_attribution_description: English: view
context_page_description: Guruvayurappan also often written Guruvayoorappan, is a form of Vishnu worshipped mainly in Kerala. He is the presiding deity of Guruvayur temple, who is being worshiped as Shri Krishna in his child form, also known as Guruvayur Unnikkannan. Even though the deity is that of chaturbahu Vishnu, the concept of the people is that the deity is the infant form of Lord Krishna. The deity represents the purna rupa revealed by baby Krishna to his parents Vasudeva and Devaki immediately after his advent in Kamsa's jail. So this is the reason why baby Krishna is worshipped on a Vishnu deity. The temple is located in the town of Guruvayur, Thrissur district, Kerala, India, which is named after the deity itself.
  The word Guruvayurappan, meaning Lord of Guruvayur, comes from the words Guru referring to Brihaspati, the Guru of the Devas, Vayu, the God of Wind and Appan, meaning 'father' or 'Lord' in Malayalam. Since Guru and Vayu installed Krishna's deity, the name Guruvayurappan was given to the deity.
context_section_description: An astrologer told a Pandya King that he was destined to die from a cobra bite on a particular day. He was advised to go and pray before Guruvayurappan. The king spent years in meditation and prayer at the feet of the deity. One day, the King realized that the time of his death had passed. He came back to his palace and asked the astrologer why the prediction was wrong. The wise man showed him the mark on his left foot where the cobra had bitten him. Since the king was wholly absorbed in the Lord, Who alone can dispense with fate, he did not feel the sting. In gratitude, the King built the temple at Guruvayur and set apart funds for the daily routine of the temple. Most of the current temple building dates to the 16th and 17th centuries, although rich devotees funded extensions and additions later. The deepastamba (column of lights) was erected in 1836 by a devotee from Thiruvananthapuram. The temple has gopurams in the east and the west. The eastern gopuram has an inscription which refers to the town as "Gurupavanapura". The western gopuram was built in 1747.
caption: The Main entrance to the temple
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