Located on the banks of the Madhuvahini River 8km northeast of Kasaragod, the spectacular Madhur temple was built in 10th century by the Mypadi Rajas of Kumbla. Though Lord Shiva is the presiding deity, it is his son who draws the crowds. Lord Ganesha’s idol is not made of stone or soil but some unknown material; hence all abhishekas (oblations) are done for Ishwara. The temple has an imposing structure with its gables, copper plate roofing and wooden statues. During his invasion of Malabar, after conquering Kumbla, Tipu reached this shrine intent on destroying it. Overcome by fatigue, he quenched his thirst from the temple well and underwent a divine change of heart. He left the shrine unharmed, except a mark left by his dagger on the intricate woodwork. The temple well’s water has no frogs or fish, tastes good and is said to possess medicinal and curative properties. Another highlight is the Moodappa Seva, a special festival where Maha Ganapathi’s large figure is covered with moodappam (sweet rice ghee cakes) but no matter how much you stack up, it’s never enough. A very costly affair, the festival was last held in April 1992, and earlier in 1962 and 1802.

The Madhur Ganapathy Temple is another major pilgrim attraction in Kasaragod. It is situated in a picturesque landscape eight km north-east of Kasaragod. The temple’s architecture is magnetic enough to hold the attention of any travellers. The Madhuvaahini (Payaswani) river flows just in front of the temple. The imposing legends about this temple made it popular among the people ages ago.

History :

References of this ancient temple can be seen in the Skanda purana and Brahma purana. The present structure of the temple was built following the layout of Sree Mahalingeswara temple, Adoor and dates back to the tenth century. Legend has it that the idol of the temple was found by a Dalit woman, by name Madaru. Once she accidentally stuck her sickle on a sila of Lord Shiva (idol in rock) and it started bleeding. Frightened she reported this incident to the ruler of that place. He in turn asked her to hurl her sickle towards the eastern side with great faith. To her astonishment the sickle fell beyond her expectation on the western bank of the Payaswani River. The ruler found there a tiger and cow grazing together peacefully and he became convinced of the sanctity of the land. The ruler ordered for the consecration of the idol at this sacred place. The place was named Madoor considering the munificence of Lord Shiva to Madaru. The river Payaswani later came to be known as Madhuvaahini meaning the river containing the essence of spirituality.
Though Lord Shiva is the main deity the idol of Lord Ganapathy is more famous. There are many stories related to the installation of the idol of Lord Ganapathy. It is often associated with the myths relating to the Shiva Yajna conducted by great seers. During the yajna a heavy rain came and interrupted it. The seers realized their fault in not propitiating Lord Ganesha. The sages soon painted a picture of him on the north-eastern wall of the mahaprasaada sreekovil. To the surprise of the people the picture started growing horizontally and almost touched the ceiling of the side rooms. Devotees prayed for him to restrict the further growth. Ganesha was pleased with them and stopped growing horizontally and instead started growing vertically.
In 1784 Tippu Sulthan attacked the place and he planned to ransack the temple. Tippu struck the western roof with his sword. But once he took the theertha jala (the holy water) from the temple he became calm and he left the temple without attacking. The deep cut made by his sword is still kept as a historical monument.

How to reach Madhur Ganapathi Temple :

It has well connected road network form other main cities. Many numbers of buses will be flying from Kasaragod town.

Distance from main cities and places to Madhur Ganapathi Temple

8 kms from Kasaragod, which is the nearest town and headquarters of the District
59 kms from Mangalore, famous coastal city of Karnataka
Nearest airport Bajpe (Mangalore) 67 kms from airport.
Nearest Railway Station: Kasaragod

Address :

Shree Madanantheshwara Siddhivinayaka Temple, Madhur
Kasaragod, Kerala State, India-671 124.
Phone: 04994-240240, 04994-240666