On a pleasant Wednesday (17th January) morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived a the Guruvayur Sri Krishna Swamy Temple in Thrissur, Kerala. PM Modi performed a pooja and had a darshan at Guruvayur Temple. The Prime Minister was seen dressed in Kerala’s traditional Mundu and Veshti. Prime Minister Modi also attended the wedding of actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi’s daughter Bhagya Suresh at the temple.
#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi performs pooja and darshan at Guruvayur Temple in Guruvayur, Kerala. pic.twitter.com/rm8j7aii9W
— ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2024
Prime Minister Modi arrived at the Kalyana Mandapam where the wedding rituals of bride Bhagya Suresh and groom Suresh Mohan were performed. PM Modi blessed the couple on their special occasion and congratulated them. He left the venue after clicking pictures with the newly-married couple. Notably, Malayalam actors Manmootty, Mohanlal, and Dileep among others also attended the wedding.
Taking to X, PM Modi shared some pictures from his Guruvayur visit as expressed his gratitude to the people of Kerala for extending a warm welcome to him.
“It was early in the morning but people in Guruvayur came in large numbers to bless me. I cherish this warmth and it motivates me to work even harder for the people,” PM Modi posted.
It was early in the morning but people in Guruvayur came in large numbers to bless me. I cherish this warmth and it motivates me to work even harder for the people. pic.twitter.com/GRerw32nkv
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 17, 2024
The temple priests presented a replica of Lord Krishna’s idol to Prime Minister Modi today.
In another post, PM Modi hailed the divine energy of the temple as he wrote, “Prayed at the sacred Guruvayur Temple. The divine energy of this Temple is immense. I prayed that every Indian be happy and prosperous.”
Prayed at the sacred Guruvayur Temple. The divine energy of this Temple is immense. I prayed that every Indian be happy and prosperous. pic.twitter.com/eFpxWaa9BL
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 17, 2024
Notably, PM Modi is set to inaugurate the International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) of the Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) at Kochi in Kerala. The 310-meter-long drydock built along with India’s first fully developed ship repair ecosystem ISRF is set to become a game-changer for India’s marine sector. PM Narendra Modi is also inaugurating various infrastructure projects at Kochi worth Rs 4000 Crores. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal took stock of the preparations before the Prime Minister arrived in Kochi and reviewed these projects.
PM Modi performs Thulabharam
Before gracing the wedding of Suresh Gopi’s daughter Prime Minister Modi performed the ‘Thulabharam’ ritual at the Guruvayur Temple today. It is interesting to note that during the Thulabharam ceremony, the devotee sits on one side of the weighing scale (Tula) and places an item of equal or greater weight on the other side. The item is then offered to the deity. According to Puranic belief, doing this ritual signifies the devotees’ submission to the deity. The items kept on the balance vary based on the needs of the devotee. Thulabharam ritual is performed for alleviation from distress, accomplishing an aspiration, or healing from a health condition.
As per the Puranas, this ritual was started after Rishi Narada challenged one of Lord Krishna’s wives Satyabhama to take a challenge that her husband would sit on one side of the scale and she would have to put as much wealth on the other side of the scale as to outweigh the Lord himself and prove her love for Krishna. On failing to do so Lord Krishna would become a slave (Das) of Narada. However, despite offering her entire wealth including gold, she failed to outweigh Lord Krishna, seeing this, goddess Rukmini came and placed a Tulsi leaf on the weighing scale with all her devotion to the supreme deity. After this, the Tulsi leaf outweighs Lord Krishna. The scriptures say that Rishi Narada had pre-planned this, to teach Satyabhama the power of devotion and love. This puranic tale inspires the Thulabhram ceremony at the Guruvayur Temple.
Guruvayur Temple – The Bhuloka Vaikuntham
The Guruvayur temple, known as “Bhuloka Vaikuntham” (Holy abode of Lord Vishnu), is thought to be at least 5,000 years old, with the main idol installed by Brihaspati and Vayu and blessed by Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati. The temple devoted to Lord Vishnu and the young form of Lord Krishna is popularly known as the ‘Dwarka of the South’. The statue of Lord Vishnu installed here has four arms. One holds the conch Panchajanya, another holds the discus Sudarshana Chakra, the third has the mace Kaumodaki, and the fourth holds a lotus with a Holy basil garland. The temple is particularly known for its elephant festival – Guruvayoor Aanayottam. Devotees from all over the world come here to see beautifully dressed elephants. Moreover, Guruvayur Ekadashi, Vaishakam and Ashtami Rohini festivals are also celebrated at the ‘Bhuloka Vaikuntha’.
The Guruvayur Temple is a typical example of Kerala’s traditional temple architecture. It faces east and has two gopurams, one in the east (Kizhakkenada) and one in the west (Padinjarenada). Moreover, structures like Nalambalam (temple structure enclosing sanctum sanctorum), Balikkal (sacrificial stone) and Deepastambam (Pillar of lights) in the temple precincts leave the visitors spellbound. The wall of the sanctum sanctorum (Srekovil) is adorned with antique 17th-century artwork.
Fake News on PM Modi’s visit to the temple
Notably, some people were spreading fake news that many weddings at Guruvayur Temple were cancelled due to the visit by PM Modi. However, the temple administration clarified that no weddings scheduled for 17th January were cancelled. The temple however changed the times of some weddings to accommodate a security window for the visit. While it was being claimed that 48 weddings were cancelled, actually 39 of the 65 marriages planned for today were rescheduled to take place between 5 am to 6 am, while originally 9 weddings were scheduled during this period. Therefore, a total of 48 marriages were scheduled for 5 to 6 am.
Guruvayur Devaswom Board had further clarified that there was no question of weddings taking place outside auspicious time or muhurtham because of the change of time slots, because there is no muhurtham at the Guruvayur temple, and weddings can take place anytime in the day. The boead also clarified that the limit of 20 guests per wedding is already there in the temple for several years, and it has not been imposed for PM Modi’s visit. The temple sees over 100 marriages in a day in some days, and that is why the limit on guests have been implemented.
