Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited the famous Guruvayur temple in Thrissur district as part of his Kerala visit. He performed the temple ritual ‘Thulabharam’ using 111 Kg of lotus flowers. At this temple where lord Krishna is the main deity, the 'Thulabharam' is performed by making a person sit on one side of a balance scale. On the other scale, offerings like flowers, fruits, grains etc are weighed and then offered to the deity.
The PM arrived at Guruvayur temple by 10 am on Saturday after arriving in Kochi the previous night. He reached the Guruvayur temple through the special helicopter of the Southern Naval Command in Kochi.
Modi who made his visit to the temple in the traditional Kerala dress of ‘Kasavu mundu’ was welcomed by the temple officials who gave him Poornakumbham (potful of offerings).
As per reports, the 111Kg of lotus flowers were brought from Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu.
Along with Thulabharam, he also performed other temple rituals like ‘Neyyabhishekam’ and ‘Kalabham’ offering.
Though he was earlier scheduled to spend about an hour in the temple, he was there for 30 minutes. After this, he returned to Sreevalsam guest house that is near the temple. Interestingly, he walked from Sreevalsam guest house to the temple, though his convoy had been kept ready for him.
The Prime Minister had visited the Guruvayur temple once before in 2008, soon after he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat for the second time. Though the PM has visited many temples over the past five years, his first ever temple visit after winning the elections again, is being looked at as one with political undertones. Many political commentators believe that his visit to a state like Kerala that has firmly kept the BJP away, is a political message to the people of the state. According to former Central minister Alphons Kannanthanam, the PM was telling the people of Kerala that the BJP cared about the state. Other BJP leaders have rejected this analysis and maintain that the visit is purely a religious one. However, the PM's decision to address a political meeting in Thrissur district (the temple is located in the district) where the BJP had managed to garner 28% of the votes, despite announcing a candidate quite late, seems to be a political move.
Modi will also address a public gathering in Thrissur at around 11.30 am. This is the first time Narendra Modi is addressing a public gathering after being sworn in as the Prime Minister.