Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple

Tradition and the district administration describe the shrine as thousands of years old, but that is a belief, not a dated historical record. Kerala Tourism says the central shrine is believed to have been rebuilt in 1638 CE. From the 16th century the Zamorins of Calicut were the temple's main royal patrons.

The temple went through hard times in the 18th century. Historical accounts (summarised on Wikipedia with citations) record a Dutch raid in 1716 that damaged the western gopuram. During Tipu Sultan's invasion of Malabar in 1789, the main image was taken to the Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna Temple for safety and later brought back.

Guruvayur is central to India's temple-entry movement. In 1931 a satyagraha led by K. Kelappan, with A.K. Gopalan among the volunteers, began demanding entry for Hindus barred by caste. Kelappan's 1932 fast ended at Mahatma Gandhi's request. Because Guruvayur then lay in Malabar under the Madras Presidency, the 1936 Travancore Temple Entry Proclamation did not cover it. The temple opened to all Hindus only in June 1947.

On 30 November 1970 a major fire destroyed much of the outer structures, though the sanctum was spared. The Guruvayur Devaswom Act passed in the years after the fire placed the temple under a statutory managing committee, replacing the earlier hereditary control of the Zamorin and the Mallissery family.

Architecture and sacred features

The temple is built in the traditional Kerala style, with gabled roofs, woodwork and a covered circumambulatory path. The sanctum (srikovil) has two storeys, and its roof is copper sheeting plated with gold. Kerala Tourism notes 17th-century murals, gopurams on the eastern and western sides, a lamp pillar (deepasthambam) about 24 feet tall with thirteen tiers, and a gold-covered flagstaff of about 70 feet. The main image is carved from a stone known as Patala Anjana.