Kerala mural paintings are the frescos depicting Hindu mythology in Kerala. Ancient temples and palaces in Kerala, India, display an abounding tradition of mural paintings mostly dating back between the 9th to 12th centuries CE when this form of art enjoyed royal patronage.
Guruvayur is a municipal temple town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It is a suburban town of Thrissur city, located 27 kilometres (17 mi) from Thrissur towards the north-west. It houses the Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple. It is located at a distance of 292 km (181 mi) from the state capital Trivandrum towards the north-west, 80 km (50 mi) from Kochi towards the north, 90 km (56 mi) from Calicut towards south.
Guruvayurappan also often rendered Guruvayoorappan, is a form of Vishnu worshipped mainly in Kerala. He is the presiding deity of the temple, who is worshipped as Krishna in his child form, also known as Guruvayur Unnikkannan. Even though the deity is that of chaturbahu Vishnu, the sankalpam (concept) of the people is that the deity is the infant form of Krishna Only.
The Guruvayur Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Guruvayurappan, a form of Krishna, located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala, India. It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and is often referred to as Bhuloka Vaikuntha.
Elephants found in Kerala, the Indian elephants, are one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant. Since 1986, Asian elephants have been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 25,600 to 32,750 in the wild. The species is pre-eminently threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. Along with a large population of wild elephants, Kerala has more than seven hundred captive elephants. Most of them are owned by temples and individuals. They are used for religious ceremonies in and around the temples, and some churches, and a few elephants work at timber yards.
Mammiyur Mahadeva Temple is a popular Shiva temple situated in Guruvayoor, Thrissur district of Kerala, India. Every devotee who goes to Guruvayur Temple is supposed to go to Mammiyoor also, as the ritual goes. Only Hindus are allowed inside the temple premises. The temple is a part of the 108 famous Shiva temples in Kerala and one among the five Shiva temples around Guruvayoor. The main deity is Lord Shiva, who is installed in the concept of 'Uma Maheshwara' - His form with Goddess Parvathi on his left. There is a shrine for Lord Vishnu also here. The sub-deities are Lord Ganapathi, Lord Subrahmanya, Lord Ayyappan, Goddess Kali and Serpent deities. This temple is managed by Malabar Devaswom Board. Daily three poojas are conducted. Puzhakkara Chennas Mana is the hereditary Thanthri of this temple too. Shivaratri and Ashtami Rohini are the major festivals.
Gajarajan Guruvayur Keshavan is perhaps the most famous and celebrated temple elephant in Kerala, India. Keshavan was donated to the Guruvayur temple by the royal family of Nilambur on 4 January 1922.
Chembai Sangeetholsavam is an annual Carnatic music festival held in Guruvayur by the Guruvayur Devaswom in memory of Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, one of the titans of Carnatic classical music and an ardent devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan.
Guruvayur Ekadasi in Guruvayur is the 11th day of Vrishchika. It falls in the Mandala season. The Navami and Dasami are also important. Vilakku Ekadasi starts a month before with offerings by individuals, families and organisations. The temple is open on this day for Nirmalya Darshan at 3 a.m.. It is closed at 9.00 am on Dwadasi offerings of a token amount called Dwadasi Panam in Koothambalam take place.
Krishnaattam is a temple art in Kerala, India. It is a dance drama and presents the story of Krishna in a series of eight plays and was created by Manaveda, the then Zamorin Raja of Calicut in northern Kerala. The eight plays are: Avataram, Kaliyamardanam, Rasakrida, Kamsavadham, Swayamvaram, Banayuddham, Vividavadham and Swargarohanam. It survives in its glory at the Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple.
Narayaniyam is a medieval-era Sanskrit text, comprising a summary study in poetic form of the Bhāgavata Purana. It was composed by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, one of the celebrated Sanskrit poets in Kerala. Even though the Narayaneeyam is believed to be composed as early as 1586 AD, earliest available manuscripts came only after more than 250 years. The Bhagavata Purana is a major Hindu scripture consisting of about 18,000 verses, mainly devoted to the worship of Krishna.
Poonthanam Nambudiri (1547–1640AD) was a famous poet and a devotee of Guruvayurappan, who lived in Keezhattoor in what is now Malappuram district, Kerala, India. He is remembered for his masterpiece, Jnanappana which means "the song of divine wisdom" in Malayalam. His other chief poems in Malayalam are Bhasha Karnamritam and Kumaraharanam or Santanagopalam Pana. His other works include Raghaviyam, Vishnuvilasam and Sitaraghavam in Sanskrit and Vishnugeeta and Panchatantram in modern Malayalam.
Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple is one of the largest Bagavathi temples in Kerala located in Thrissur City. Sakthan Thampuran ordained the temples into two groups, namely "Paramekkavu side" and "Thiruvambady side" for Thrissur Pooram which is the biggest festival in South India and Kerala. These two groups are headed by the principal participants, Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple at Thrissur Swaraj Round and Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple at Shoranur road. The two temples are hardly 500 metres apart. Thiruvambadi Sri Krishna Temple is one of the two groups participating in Thrissur Pooram. The Paramekkavu temple devaswom have a school known as Paramekkavu Vidya Mandir at MLA road near Kutoor and one KG section near to the temple itself.
Devaswom are socio-religious trusts in India, whose members are nominated by the government and community. They oversee Hindu temples and their assets to ensure their smooth operation in accordance with traditional rituals and customs. The devaswom system notably exists in the state of Kerala, where most temples are either managed by Government of Kerala-controlled devaswoms or private bodies or families. The properties of each temple are deemed to be the personal property of the presiding deity of the temple, and are managed through a body of trustees who bear allegiance to that deity.
Guruvayur Devaswom is a Statutory and Independent body created for the governing and management of 12 temples in Kerala assigned to it. With the passing of Madras Regulation Act in the year 1817, temples were brought under the control of East India Company,a corporate organisation. The concept of temple included its premises and wealth. However, from 1925, temples were brought under government control with the passing of State Religious and Charitable Endowments Act. Under this Act, the state governments exercised power for the formation of Temple Development Boards for major temples with the members from local city.
Unnikrishnan Puthur was a Malayalam–language novelist and short story writer. Puthur wrote about 700 short stories and published 29 collections of short stories, 15 novels, a collection of poems and autobiographical writings, among others. He was awarded Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for the novel Balikkallu in 1968. He received the Odakkuzhal Award in the year 2010 for the book Anubhavangalude Ner Rekhakal.
Pepita Seth is a British-born writer and photographer, known for her accounts of the temple arts and rituals of Kerala and her photographs of the widely celebrated captive elephant, Guruvayur Keshavan. The Government of India honoured her, in 2012, with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her services to the field of art and culture.
Suresh K. Nair is an artist based in Banaras. Nair obtained his national diploma in mural painting from the Institute of Mural Painting Guruvayur, Kerala under the guidance of Mammiyur Krishnan Kuty Nair. He was inspired by the works of Rabiindranath Tagore, Nandalal Bose, Benode Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinker Baij and continued his studies at the Department of Painting, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. Nair has acquired a presence in the Indian and international art scene over the last decade with several shows organized by regional and international galleries and museums, and created many murals in India and abroad. His early works are based on Kerala murals, both in terms of technique and ideas. One of his modern paintings, ‘Cosmic Butterfly" is owned by Essl Museum, Vienna, Austria since 2010. His works were exhibited in the US, Spain, and Canada, and his awards include the Elizabath Green Shield Foundation Scholarship (1999) of Canada; Fulbright Fellowship ( 2006–07) for an Educational Exchange Program at Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia under Professor Nicholas Kripal; and the State Award of Kerala Lalithkala Akademi, Ministry of Culture, Government of Kerala.
Kuchela dinam or 'Kuchela's day' is an yearly festival celebrated by Hindus in south India. It is observed on the first Wednesday of the month of Dhanu in Malayalam calendar. In Hindu mythology, Kuchela is the childhood friend of Lord Krishna who made an offering of beaten rice (aval) to Krishna despite his poverty. Following the offering, he became wealthy because of the benevolent blessings of Lord Krishna. Several temples in South India, including the famous Guruvayur Temple observes kuchela dinam in remembrance of Kuchela's willingness to part his food despite extreme poverty. Devotee's offer specially prepared beaten rice in Krishna temples on Kuchela dinam. The offering is known as aval nivedyam and contains grated coconut, jaggery, ghee, dried ginger and cumin in addition to beaten rice. Special counters will be opened at the temples from the eve of Kuchela day to facilitate aval nivedyam. In Guruvayur temple, devotees line up outside the temple and offer packets of beaten rice at the namaskara mandapam situated in front of the sanctum sanctorum and the steps leading to the shrine called thripadi. Devotees believe that poverty will be eradicated and prosperity will follow after aval nivedyam.
Institute of Mural Painting is an institute established by Guruvayur Devaswom Board in 1989 to give training in mural painting, especially in the Kerala style of mural painting, in the traditional Gurukula system. Guruvayur Devaswom Board is the statutory body which governs and manages a group pf 12 temples including the Sri Krishna Temple at Guruvayur. This is the only institute of its kind in India.
