Guruvayurappan - Sthala Purana

Part 2

The story is detailed in the section 'Gurupavanapura Mahatmyam' from Narada Purana. King Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna and the son of Abhimanyu, died of a bite by the poisonous snake Takshaka, due to a curse which fell upon him. King Janamejaya, his son, wanted to avenge his father's death by killing all the snakes, including Takshaka, and for that, he conducted a fierce yajna called 'Sarpastra' (Snake sacrifice). Thousands of innocent snakes died in the yajna fire, but Takshaka could not be killed because he had drunk amrita (nectar).

Due to this act, Janamejaya was affected by the curse of snakes, and contracted leprosy. He tried numerous ways to cure his disease, but none of them worked. He lost all hope of living. At that time, sage Atreya (the son of sage Atri) came to visit him and told him to worship Lord Mahavishnu in Guruvayur. He then narrated the glory of the temple as follows:

Long ago, in the beginning of Padma Kalpa, when Lord Brahma was undergoing his work of creation, Lord Mahavishnu appeared before him. When the Creator said that he and his creations want 'mukthi' without the bondage of 'karma', Lord Vishnu made an idol of himself and presented it to his friend. Lord Brahma worshipped the idol with deep obeisance for a long time, and in Varaha Kalpa, he gifted it to a sage named Sutapa and his wife Prsni, who were meditating upon Lord Vishnu for begetting a child. Sutapas and Prsni continued their prayer after getting the idol, and finally the Lord appeared before them. When they expressed their wish, which was that they want a son just like the Lord, he said that He would himself be born as their son in three successive births, and in all the three births, they could worship his idol made by himself.

As promised, in the first birth in Satya Yuga, the Lord took birth as Prsnigarbha, the son of Sutapa and Prsni. In that birth, he prophesied the importance of brahmacharya and gave darshan to his devotee Dhruva, for whom he made a special universe called 'Dhruvaloka'.

When Sutapas and Prsni were reborn as Kashyapa and Aditi, the Lord took birth as their son Vamana in Treta Yuga.

Finally, when they were reborn as Vasudeva and Devaki, the Lord took birth as their eighth son Krishna. In all the three births, they had the fortune to worship the holy idol of Lord Vishnu made by the Lord himself.

After coming back from his studies, Lord Krishna took the idol worshipped by his parents to Dwarka, his new abode. He built a temple for the idol here, and daily worshipped the idol with great devotion, despite being an avatar of Lord Vishnu himself. Finally, Dwapara Yuga came to an end. Now it was time for the Lord to return to his original abode.

Before leaving for Vaikuntha, he called his friend and disciple Uddhava and warned him that Dwarka would be affected by a serious tsunami a week later, and the lone non-natural survivor of the flood will be the divine idol worshipped by his parents in three births. He also advised him to hand over the idol to Brihaspati, the Guru of Devas who would come at that moment and leave to Badrikashram for doing penance for the rest of the lifetime.

As the Lord prophesied, there came a huge tsunami the following week. Dwarka, which was full of beautiful palaces, gardens and lush greenery, was completely destroyed in the tsunami. Only the top of a huge mountain survived. Uddhava had already left for Badrikashram for doing penance, and before leaving, he called Brihaspati and informed him about the idol.

By the time Brihaspati reached Dwarka, everything was over. But soon, he saw the holy idol of Lord Vishnu floating on the seawater. Brihaspati was overjoyed, but he could not go near the idol due to the nature of the tsunami and also it was floating towards the other side. Then he called Vayu, the wind god and one among his important disciples. Vayu, with the help of Varuna, the sea god, created huge waves towards the point where Brihaspati was standing. Brihaspati took the idol in his hands, but he could not find an answer as to where to install it.

Suddenly, sage Parashurama appeared there and told them to install the idol in an apt location in Bhargava Kshetra, the land made by him with his axe.

According to the wishes of the Sage, Brihaspati and Vayu took the idol in their hands, and travelled by sky southwards to find an apt location in Bhargava Kshetra.

When they got there, they saw a large, beautiful lake on the western side of Bhargava Kshetra, very close to the sea. Nearby it, there was lush greenery. Birds chirped all over. Animals were running happily. Breeze spread everywhere. Brihaspati and Vayu saw Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati dancing on the shores of the lake and realised that there certainly was something divine about the location.

Brihaspati and Vayu landed on the ground and prostrated before the divine parents of the world. Lord Shiva told them that he was waiting for their arrival, and that the apt location for installing the idol of Lord Vishnu was none other the place where they were standing. He also said that it was there that the ten princes called Prachetas meditated upon Lord Vishnu, to attain the status of Prajapati. Lord Shiva extolled the virtues of Lord Vishnu’s devotees and he revealed to them the Rudra Gitam, a hymn that could take a human to the highest goal of liberation. Lord Shiva then declared that since the idol is to be installed by Brihaspati - the Guru - and Vayu, the place will be called as 'Guruvayur', and devotees will find solace from the troubles of Kali Yuga.

After hearing this, Brihaspati called Vishwakarma, the divine architect and told him to construct a temple for the deity. Vishwakarma constructed the temple within minutes, with all the necessary components. Brihaspati and Vayu installed the idol with all necessary rituals. Lord Shiva performed the first pooja to the deity. Demigods headed by Indra showered flowers. Sage Narada sang songs. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, who were present throughout the divine moment, later shifted themselves to Mammiyur, a place on the opposite bank of the lake, where they appeared as a Swayambhu Linga along with their children Ganesha, Kartikeya and Shasta.

It is considered that Lord Vishnu resides here with his full power as in Vaikuntha, and thus the place is called 'Bhuloka Vaikuntha'. A darshan here is considered to be complete only by worshipping Lord Shiva in Mammiyur. All problems will be solved by this, and even if you die here, it is considered auspicious.

After hearing this story, Janamejaya proceeded to Guruvayur along with his family, and stayed there for a year. During these days, he worshipped the Lord fervently and also visited Mammiyur temple to worship Lord Shiva. Finally, on the day before the end of his worship, he had a darshan of Lord Krishna, after which his disease was cured. He returned to his country, and lived happily thereafter.