Sri Guruvayoorappan Temple, Trichy

Deity

Sri Krishna (Guruvayoorappan)

Location

Mutharasanallur, Trichy to Karur road

Distance from Trichy

About 11 km

Timings

5:30 am to 11 am; 5:30 pm to about 8:30 pm

Dress code

Traditional, modest clothing

Nearest airport

Tiruchirappalli

About the temple

The presiding deity is Sri Krishna as Guruvayoorappan, and the rituals and offerings are carried out with the same care and sequence as at the Kerala original. Smaller shrines in the complex honour Ayyappan, Vinayaka, Karuppannaswamy, Adi Sankaracharya and Shirdi Sai Baba.

What to see

The sanctums follow the Kerala style, with wooden detailing, while the mandapams are built in the Dravidian manner of Tamil Nadu. The temple tank is the most photographed corner of the complex.

• A twelve-pillared mandapam beside the tank, carved with figures of deities, and a small four-pillared pavilion in the middle of the water
• Sculptures of the Gajendra Moksha story, with Vishnu, the elephant and the crocodile, at the south-west corner
• A golden lotus in the tank, similar to the one at Madurai's Meenakshi temple
• A light-hearted image of Pillaiyar reclining with a book near the tank entrance

Festivals

The temple follows the Guruvayur calendar. The annual Utsavam, Ekadasi, Ashtami Rohini (Krishna's birthday in the Kerala reckoning) and Puthari, the harvest offering of new rice, are the main occasions and bring the largest gatherings.

Timings and dress code

Darshan runs from 5:30 in the morning until 11 am, and again from 5:30 pm until around 8 or 8:30 pm. Traditional, modest clothing is expected. Men usually come in a veshti, or in trousers with a shawl over the shoulders, and women in a saree, churidar or salwar with a dupatta. Shoulders and knees should be covered.

How to reach

Mutharasanallur is about 11 km from central Trichy and about seven kilometres from the Chathiram bus stand, along the Karur highway. The local railway station is only a few hundred metres from the temple, and Tiruchirappalli airport is the nearest for flights. We can add it to a Trichy day that also covers Srirangam and the Rockfort.

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