Guruvayur Ekadasi
Encyclopedia
Paksha
Paksha , is a fortnight in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning side or period, that is either side of the Full Moon Day or Purnima...
) has got special significance in Guruvayur
Guruvayur
Guruvayur is a municipal town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It houses the famous Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple, the fourth biggest temple in India in terms of the number of devotees per day.-History:Guruvayur, according to the legends may be 5,000 years old as the Guruvayur...
. It falls in the Mandala season (17 November, 2010). The Navami
Navami
-Festivals:* Sri Rama Navami is a Hindu festival, celebrating of the birth of Lord Rama. It is celebrated in Chaitra month .* Swaminarayan Jayanti is a Hindu Fesival celebrating the birth of Lord Swaminarayan.It is celebrated in Chaitra month on the ninth day which actually falls onto Sri Rama...
(9th day) and Dasami (10th day) are also very important. Ekadasi Vilakku starts a month before the Ekadasi day as offering by different persons, families and organisations. On Navami day, the Vilakku is lit with ghee as an offering by Kolady family. The Dasami Vilakku which used to be an offering of Zamorin Raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
, is now conducted by Guruvayurappan Sankeerthana Trust. After the temple is open on this day for Nirmalya darshan
Darshan
or Darshan is a Sanskrit term meaning "sight" , vision, apparition, or glimpse. It is most commonly used for "visions of the divine" in Hindu worship, e.g. of a deity , or a very holy person or artifact...
( 3.00AM ), it is closed only at 9.00 am on Dwadasi Day (12th day), thus allowing continuous darshan for devotees throughout Dasami and Ekadasi Days. On Dwadasi day there is a custom of offering a token amount called Dwadasi Panam
Panam
Panam may refer to:* Pan Am , a television series centered around Pan American World Airways during the 1960s* Pan American World Airways, the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927–1991...
in Koothambalam
Koothambalam
Koothambalam' or Kuttampalam is a theater hall for staging Koothu , Nangiar koothu and Koodiyattam, the ancient dramatic art forms of Kerala, India. Koothambalams are constructed according to the guide lines given in the chapter 2 of Nātyasāstra of Bharata Muni. The hall is considered to be as...
for the welfare of the family.
Highlights of the Guruvayur Ekadasi are the memorial honour for Gaja
Gaja
Gaja is one of the significant animals finding references in Hindu scriptures and Buddhist and Jain texts. In general, a gaja personifies a number of positive attributes including abundance, fertility and richness; boldness and strength; and wisdom and royalty...
rajan Kesavan and the Chembai Sangeetholsavam
Chembai Sangeetholsavam
Chembai Sangeetholsavam is an annual Carnatic music festival held in Guruvayur by the Guruvayur Devaswom as a kind of homage to Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, one of the titans of Carnatic Classical Music....
. The Karanavar or head of the elephant family places a wreath at the statue of Kesavan in front of Sreevalsam guest house and all the other elephants stand around and pay obeisance. On Ekadasi day, the Udayasthamana Pooja (dawn to dusk pooja) is conducted by the Devaswom itself . After the morning seeveli, on Ekadasi there is a grant elephant procession to the Parthasarathi temple since it is regarded as Geethopadesam Day also. On Ekadasi after night pooja the famous Ekadasi Vilakku with elephant procession takes place and provides a fitting finale to the festival.