The Naming of Guruvāyūr

Guru and Vāyu placed the vigraham a kilometre and a half from Mammiyūr and resolved to build a temple there. As soon as the Lord heard of their decision, the vigraham spoke. Before they built the temple, He said, He wished for a tank to be made, not set apart or tucked away in a corner, but forming part of the temple itself, so that devotees could bathe in it and enter the temple at once.

As the Lord instructed, Guru summoned Varuṇa Deva, and the tank was built. As soon as it was ready, the Lord said that He wished to bathe in it. Guru and Vāyu placed Him upon a plate of solid gold and bathed Him in its waters, and the Lord named the tank Nārāyaṇa Saras.

Then Devaguru Brihaspati summoned all the Devas and performed the Ashṭabandhana Samprokshaṇa Kumbhābhishekam, establishing the temple and completing the consecration of the Lord.

The Lord was pleased with Guru and Vāyu and asked them to stand before Him. He told all the Devas that, in an age when humankind would scarcely spare a thought for the Lord, Guru and Vāyu had kept their promise to Uddhava with immense devotion and established a temple for Him. In their honour, the Lord named the kshethram Guruvāyūr, and since He stands there, He asked to be known as Guruvāyūrappan.

As one enters the temple, one should remember the Lord and call out to Him as Nārāyaṇa. Passing the maṇḍapam where Sri Nārāyaṇa Bhaṭṭatiri composed the Nārāyaṇīyam, one should remember Him and call out to Him as Krishna. And finally, approaching the sanctum, one should remember Him and call out to Him as Guruvāyūrappan:

"O Nārāyaṇa, Krishna, Guruvāyūrappa, protect me and be my refuge."