416 Marriages Solemnised at Guruvayur Temple, Kerala

A news report records 416 marriages solemnised at Guruvayur Temple, Kerala, on a single day recently. Guruvayur Temple comprises a Hindu temple in Guruvayur town, Thrissur District, dedicated to Guruvayurappan.

Guruvayur Temple:

Dimension	Key Details
Also known as	The temple comprises the epithet “Dwarka of the South”.
Presiding deity	The temple comprises dedication to Guruvayurappan, a form of Lord Vishnu worshipped as Baby Krishna.
Devotee footfall	The temple comprises the fourth biggest shrine in India in terms of devotees every day.
Architecture style	The temple comprises traditional Kerala-style temple architecture with a gabled roof, wooden carvings, and intricate sculptures.
Key structures on premises	The premises comprise structures such as the Nalambalam, Balikkal, and Deepastambam.
Murals	The sanctum sanctorum wall comprises ancient 17th-century murals.
Dwajasthamba	The Dwajasthamba comprises a flagstaff around 70 feet tall, fully covered with gold.
Thulabharam offering	Thulabharam comprises weighing devotees against jaggery, coconuts, sugar, or bananas on a giant set of scales, with the quantity given as an offering.
Elephants	The temple comprises a large population of captive male Asian elephants.
Punnathur Kotta elephant sanctuary	Punnathur Kotta elephant sanctuary, very close to the temple, comprises 56 elephants.
Literary and recorded-history references	Mentions of “Kuruvayur” comprise the Tamil literature “Kokasandesam” (14th century C.E.) and references in the 16th century C.E.; the earliest recorded history comprises tracing to the 17th century C.E.
Selected dated events	Key dated events comprise rebuilding of the present structure in 1638 C.E.; Dutch plunder and temple fire in 1716 AD; rebuilding in 1747 AD; capture of Guruvayur and a ransom demand of 10,000 fanams in 1766; destruction of smaller shrines and temple fire in 1789; and reinstallation of the idol in 1792.