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One of the richest temples in Kerala, Guruvayar temple (3am-1pm & 4-10pm; closed to non-Hindus) is from very early morning to late at night awash with pilgrims in their best white clothes, often trimmed with gold. The bazaar outside the perimeter wall is full of glitter and trinkets such as two-rupee plastic Guruvayurappan signet rings, and there is a palpable air of excitement, particularly when events inside spill out into the streets. A temple committee stall outside the main gates auctions off the gifts, including bell-metal lamps, received at the shrine but, according to superstition, if you buy any of these items they must be returned to the temple as gifts. Of the temple's 24 annual festivals , the most important are Ekadashi and Ulsavam.
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During the eighteen days of Ekadashi, in the month of Vrischikam (Nov/Dec), marked by processions of caparisoned elephants outside the temple, the exterior of the building may be decorated with the tiny flames of innumerable oil lamps. On certain days (check dates with a KTDC office) programmes staged in front of the temple attract the cream of south Indian classical-music artists. During Ulsavam, in the month of Kumbham (Feb/March), when tantric rituals are conducted inside, an elephant race is run outside on the first day and elephant processions take place during the ensuing six days. On the ninth day, the Palivetta, or "hunt" occurs; the deity, mounted on an elephant, circumambulates the temple accompanied by men dressed as animals, who represent human weaknesses such as greed and anger, and are vanquished by the god. The next night sees the image of the god taken out for ritual immersion in the temple tank; devotees greet the procession with oil lamps and throw rice. It is considered highly auspicious to bathe in the tank at the same time as the god.
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Kerala's
most important Krishna shrine, the high-walled temple of Guruvayur
29km northwest of Thrissur, attracts a constant flow of pilgrims, second
only in volume to Ayappa's at Sabarimala. Its deity, Guruvayurappan, has
inspired numerous paeans from Keralan poets, most notably Narayana Bhattatiri
who wrote the Narayaniyam during the sixteenth century, when the temple, whose
origins are legendary, seems to have first risen to prominence. 