Guruvayur Ekadasi on25-11-2020 this year
Compiled by
P.R.Ramachander
It is the belief that Lord Vishnu himself comes to Guruvayur on that day.It is also believed that Devendra and all his Devas , all gods and Goddesses participate in the celebrations in Guruvayur,Because of it, it is believed that Guruvayur Ekadasi is very special, destroys all sins and purifies one and all
Narada purana saya performing 1000 Aswamedhas and hundreds of Vajapeyas, would give lesser effect than one by sixteenth of observing Guruvayur Ekadasi.Outside Guruvayur it is observed as Moksha(salvation) Ekadasi
Story behing Guruvayur Ekadasi
It seems once an asura called Mura made the land of devas as his own.All devas waged a war against him to regain their land. At that time Lord Vishnu was in yogic sleep and one female form with divine luster armed with all the weapons of Lord Vishnu rose from him and completely destroyed Mura and his army
When lord Vishnu woke up and asked her as to who she is, She replied that she was Ekadasi, Lord Vishnu was greatly pleased and asked her to request any boon from him She requested that her day should become the mosat holy among all days and that to those who did penance on that day, , the effect of perform ming Aswamedha should be given and should be admitted to Vishnu loka on their death.Lord Vishnu was very delighted and agreed to her request.
The day of Guruvayur Ekadasi ie the shukla Paksha Ekasai of Vruschika month(October-november) is the day on which Lord Vishnu wakes up from his yogic slep and visits the earth along with Goddess Lakshmi and blesses the world.
It is the day when the temple open the entire day from 3AM to next day 9AM.All expenses for Udhayasthamana pooja on that day is borne by devaswam itself,unlike otherdays
There is a morning seeveli inside the temple
A special feast called ‘Ekadasi Oottu’ will be served at the temple in the morning. A main dish made of wheat, Rasakkalan, Puzhukku, pickle and wheat payasam will be served.
Ekadasi Vilakku. Kazhcha shivelis will be conducted with caparisoned elephants accompanied by panchavadhyam, melam, nagaswaram and vilakku pradikshan at night. During the Vilakku Pradikshan, the thidambu of the deity will be carried on top of the elephant in a procession accompanied by idakka (temple percussion instrument). The devotees light up thsousands of lamps around the Naalambalam. The Vilakku is offered to the Lord by various individuals, institutions and organizations.. The ‘swamakolam’ of the deity will be carried on the chief elephant , during the Vilakku
It is the day when Lord Krishna taught Arjuna the Bhagwad gita on Ekadasi there is a grant elephant procession to the Parthasarathi temple since it is regarded as Geethopadesam
It is the day when Indra reached Vaikunta along with Kamadhenu and anointed Lord Vishnu with its milk
It is the day when Lord Krishna performed Govardhana Pooja
It is the day when Adhi Sankara visited Guruvayur and formulated the methods of worship to Guruvayurappan
It is the day when Guruvaurappan comes out to bless his devotees without any thanthric worships
It is the day when great devotees like Meppathur Bhattathiripad, Poonkunnam and Kurooramma Got the vision of Guruvayurappan
It is the day when Meppathir completed Narayaneeyam and offered to Guruvayurappan
It is the day when Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagwathar got back his voice
It is the day when all the Guruvayur temple elephants assemble before statue of Guruvayur Kesavan and he is garlanded by the chief elephant of the temple.
On the next day of Guruvayur Ekadashi (Dwadashi), there is a famous custom called Dwadasi Panam. During this occasion, money is offered at the Kothambalam of the temple. This is considered greatly auspecious