Guruvayur Ekadasi: the great Ekadasi of Kerala's Krishna temple

Guruvayur keeps Ekadasi as a whole day of worship, and for most pilgrims the queue for darshan, the sight of the deity, is the event itself. The temple opens at 3 am for nirmalya darshan, when Guruvayurappan is seen still in the previous day's adornment, a moment held to be especially auspicious. On Ekadasi the Devaswom itself performs the Udayasthamana Pooja, the series of offerings from sunrise to sunset, and the Bhagavad Gita is read aloud in the temple from the morning, since tradition holds that Krishna taught it on this day.

Devotees fast: some eat nothing all day, others give up only rice, and many stay awake repeating Vishnu's names. The deity's own food offerings are made as usual. The Devaswom notes that its normal sanctum timings are indicative and change on special occasions; on Ekadasi the temple stays open for most of the day and night.

The days before are part of the festival too. About a month ahead the evening chuttuvilakku begins, the ring of lamps lit around the temple, each evening sponsored by a different family or group.

Ekadasi is also the last day of the Chembai Sangeetholsavam, the 'festival of music' held by the Devaswom in the name of the singer Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar. A devotee of Guruvayurappan, he gathered musicians at the temple each Ekadasi for some 60 years. After his death in 1974 the Devaswom carried the festival on; it began as a single day and has grown to about fifteen days leading up to Ekadasi.

Some three thousand musicians, from children to masters, take turns singing and playing Carnatic music by the temple, day and night. On the final day the musicians sing together Chembai's favourite songs and Thyagaraja's Pancharatna Kritis, the five 'gem' compositions of Carnatic music. For a listener this is the easiest part of the festival to experience: you sit and listen.

These rules come from the Guruvayur Devaswom, which runs the temple. They apply every day, and are kept most strictly on the busiest one.

The Devaswom runs its own booking site and says it authorises no agents for darshan or accommodation.

Guruvayur is about 26 km north-west of Thrissur city and about 86 km north of Kochi. On Ekadasi the town fills with pilgrims, and the Devaswom's own guidance for busy days is practical: follow the security staff, use the police aid posts at the East Nada if you are separated from your group, and use the medical centres if needed. FCDO notes that stampedes have occurred at some religious gatherings in India and advises following the advice of the local authorities. In an emergency, call 112.

The name on our calendar, 'Ekadasi and the Utsavam', joins two different festivals. The Utsavam is the temple's ten-day annual festival in the month of Kumbham (February to March), a separate trip from Ekadasi. Kochi is the nearest city on our site: see Kochi.