Guruvayur Temple sets record with 416 weddings on first Sunday of Chingam

GURUVAYUR: The Guruvayur temple witnessed a record 416 weddings on the first Sunday of the Malayalam month of Chingam. The weddings began at 4 am and continued until 12.45 pm, with a break when the temple was closed for the Uchapooja (noon puja). The number surpassed the previous record of 334 weddings held on September 8, 2024.

Weddings continued throughout the morning, except when the temple was closed from 5.47 am to 6.12 am for the Ushapooja and later for the Pantheeradi pooja and Uchapooja. A total of 442 weddings had been booked at the temple. The ceremonies began at 4 am after Devaswom chairman A.V. Gopinath lit the ceremonial lamp at the first mandapam near the eastern entrance.

At 4.10 am, Arnav Mohan Kumar, a native of Thalassery in Kannur, tied the thali around the neck of Vidya Anand Raj, a native of Pazhayangadi. Weddings then began at the other five mandapams. By 9.30 am, 322 weddings had been completed, while the number crossed 400 by around 10.30 am. A total of 412 weddings were completed before the temple closed for the Uchapooja.

The remaining four weddings were conducted after the temple reopened. Devaswom board members C. Manoj, Manoj B. Nair and M.U. Shinija, deputy administrators Pramod Kalarikkal and M. Radha, and PRO Vimal G. Nath were present. Security and crowd management arrangements were led by Guruvayur ACP Surendran Mangatt.