UDAYASTAMANA POOJA At Guruvayur

Udayastamana Puja at Guruvayur temple is considered the ultimate offerring at the Sree Krishna Temple Guruvayur. People have to wait for anything between 15 to 20 years before getting one. Currently all pujas have been booked till 2050 and no more bookings are being done. I was lucky to partake in a Udayastamana Puja on the 30th of Dec 09 at Guruvayur. This was the puja booked by my mother's elder sister Radha Valliyamma in 1991 and fructified 18 and a half years later after her demise. It was therefore more out of curiosity that I decide to avail the opportunity to experience first hand as to what all it involved. The puja was booked by paying Rs 10000/- in advance.
On the day prior to the puja day, my cousin Prakashettan and I go to the temple by 5.45 p.m. as directed by the Devaswom authorities and meet the temple administrator Mr Soman. He assigns an official Unnikrishnan who was supposed to conduct us through the entire proceedings of the next twenty four hours. We tell Mr Soman that we will be about 10 of us who will be coming for the Nirmalyam Puja the next morning at 3 a.m. After Sreebothaveli; where the Lords idol is paraded on caprisoned elephants as for Siveli but for more than 3 rounds ; which precedes any Udayasthaman Puja, as there is no regular Siveli that day, we go into the inner temple for the rice mesuring ritual. This done after a small puja near the inner well. We are told that this is a ritual wherein the rice for the next days preparations for the lord is considered offerrred by the devotees. We get an opportunity then to have darshan standing near the sanctum sanctorum for as much time as we want without any of the 'Kavalkarans' to shove you about! We are then asked to come to the East Nada for the Nirmalyam at 2.30 a.m.
At 2 a.m. Prakashettan, Parvathy my sister and myself go to the temple by 2.15 a.m.Very soon my uncle and aunt also join in as do Rahul and Lakshmi, a doctor couple from Amritha Cochin. At 2.40 a.m. we are taken near the main closed doors of the temple by the policemen on duty and placed right in front. we are asked to stand there till the door opens at 3 a.m. Regular devotees are also left to join this line thereafter. The temple opens at 3 a.m. and there is a mad rush to run to the inner sanctorum. We are however permitted to enter straight into it and made to stand to a side. We get magnificent darshan of the lord as he was left the previous night. We are told that anyone who has darshan at Nirmalyam is considered cleansed of all sins!! Anyway while the crowd moves out after a round inside we are priveleged to see all the Vakacharthu. one where the lord is being bathed and readied prior to 'Alankaram' and subsequent puja in which the Lord is dressed up in finery for the day. The morning pujas finish by 4.30 a.m. and we are asked to come back to the temple for the Usha Puja, the first Major puja of the day. We go back home to catch our forty winks before going back to be in time for the Usha puja.Once again all the people connected with the puja are ushered in separately and made to stand near the inner mandap and pray. That over the Siveli starts and by 7.15 a.m. the morning session is over. After b'fast the next session commences culminating with pantiradi puja. By now relatives and friends crowd increases and there are about 25 to 30 people. We decide to go in batches keeping the group down to between 10 to 15. Maximum people go for the Ucchha puja which gets over by 1.45 p.m. Thereafter everyone comes to Shanti Nilayam our house for the traditional lunch which has been brought from the temple by Unnikrishnan assisted by Ayyappoo our Man Friday and the maid Thankam. There is a gap after lunch when the remaining people either catch up on sleep or browse through magazines/papers.
We are about 11 who go for the Deepaaradna puja at 6p.m. We reach the temple at 5.30.p.m and are ushered inside. however as we enter we are told that some Ayyappa bhakta has unknowingly spat inside and hence the puja would commence only after punyaham is done. This takes nearly an hour and the puja terminates only by 7.05 p.m. Once again we have excellant darshan to our hearts content and come out feelig really blessed. Most of the relatives leave after this puja. However Kal, self Prakashettan, Parvathy, and her daughter Padma go for the Athazhasiveli, a ritual in which the idol of the lord is paraded in the temple on an elephant like in Siveli but for two extra rounds. Thereafter there is a further pradikshana of the temple by three elephants with Kolam. This ritual was being witnessed by me for the first time.
While this goes on we light lamps in the front of the temple. Thereafter we are made to stand near the Kodimaram and Prakashettan is given 8 ruppes in coins by the temple to place on the offerring box after the siveli, after which we are led near the inner entrance to have darshan of 'Trippaka' the last puja for the day when the idol after the siveli is taken into the sanctum sanctorum and the lord is being put to sleep. Thus ended a day which commenced with Nirmalyam and ended with Trippaka. Thanking my aunt Late Radhavalliamma we returned after probably havind been blessed to have such long undisturbed darshan for probably the first time in many many years.
I have ventured to reduce my experiences to writing so that anyone who gets to do such a puja in future has something to fall back upon and plan. I really thank the Lord for this opportunity.