416 Weddings In Seven Hours: Guruvayur Temple Sets New Record On Auspicious Chingam Sunday

The famed Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple witnessed a record 416 weddings in about seven hours on Sunday, the highest number of marriages conducted at the temple in a single day, Devaswom officials said.

The first Sunday of the Malayalam month of Chingam is considered an auspicious occasion for weddings at Guruvayur, drawing a large number of couples to the temple.

The Guruvayur Devaswom said in a Facebook post that Sunday's tally surpassed the previous record of 334 weddings set on Sept 8, 2024.

A total of 442 weddings, including spot bookings, had been scheduled for the day.

Six Mandapams Set Up For Weddings

The ceremonies began early in the morning after Guruvayur Devaswom Board Chairman AV Gopinath lit the ceremonial lamp at the first mandapam near the temple's eastern entrance.

Weddings started at 4.10 am and continued until 12.45 pm, except during brief periods when the temple was closed for Ushapooja and Pantheeradi Pooja, the Devaswom said.

Amid traditional music, Thalassery native Arnav Mohan Kumar tied the mangalsutra around Pazhayangadi native Vidya Anand Raj, marking the start of the day's wedding ceremonies. Weddings subsequently began at the other mandapams.

Officials said six mandapams were set up in the temple courtyard. Tokens were issued to each wedding party, while the number of people accompanying each bride and groom was restricted to 24 to prevent overcrowding.

More than 60 weddings were conducted every hour across the six mandapams, with around 137 ceremonies completed in the first two hours, officials said.

Over 100 Police Personnel Deployed

Gopinath said it was the first time that Guruvayur had witnessed such a large number of weddings in a single day and credited the public for cooperating with the arrangements.

"For the first time in Guruvayur’s history, so many weddings were held. The most important factor was the cooperation of the people of Guruvayur. Restrictions were imposed on regular devotees coming for darshan, and the public extended immense support to facilitate the weddings at the auspicious time," he said.

The Devaswom made special arrangements to manage the large number of wedding parties and devotees.

"More than 100 personnel from the police department were deployed for crowd management. Ambulance services were stationed to assist anyone who fell ill, and doctors were kept on standby. Whatever facilities can be arranged for a wedding in Guruvayur, we had made them available," Gopinath said.

Fire and Rescue Service personnel were also deployed near the temple's inner ring road to respond to emergencies.

Previous Record Of 334 Weddings Broken

The 416 weddings conducted on Sunday comfortably surpassed the temple's previous single-day record of 334, set in September 2024.

Despite 442 weddings, including spot bookings, being scheduled, officials said 416 ceremonies were ultimately conducted during the day.

The Guruvayur Devaswom later released a video on its social media platforms featuring newlywed couples speaking about the arrangements and facilities provided at the temple.