 | This articlepossibly containsoriginal research. Pleaseimprove it byverifying the claims made and addinginline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.(July 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Madhur Temple" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Madhur Temple | |
|---|---|
 Madhur Temple | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| Region | Kasaragod,tulunad |
| Deity | Shiva andGanapathi |
| Location | |
  Shown within India | |
| Geographic coordinates | 12°33′13″N75°00′37″E / 12.5534891°N 75.0101819°E /12.5534891; 75.0101819 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | temple |
Madhur Sree Madanantheshwara-Siddhivinayaka Temple is a popularShiva andGanapathi temple located 7 km (4.3 mi) fromKasaragod town, on the banks ofMogral river, locally known asMadhuvahini.[1] Though the main deity of this temple is Lord Shiva known asMadanantheshwara, meaning the god who killedKama, the god of desires, more importance is given to Lord Ganapathi, who is installed facing south in the main sanctum itself. Priests of this temple belong to theShivalli Brahmin community.Kashi Vishwanatha,Dharmasastha,Subrahmanya,Durga Parameshwari,Veerabhadra andGulika are the sub-deities of this temple. There is also presence of GoddessParvati inside the main sanctum.
Madhur temple was originally ShrimadAnantheswara (Shiva) Temple and as the lore goes, an old woman called Madaru from the localTulu Moger Community discovered an "Udbhava Murthy" (a statue that was not made by a human) ofshiva linga. Initially, the Ganapathy picture was drawn by a boy, on the southern wall of theGarbhagriha(sanctum sanctorum) while playing. Day by day it became big and fat; so that the boy called Ganapathi as "boddajja" or "Bodda Ganesha". The legend of Kumble seme saysTipu Sultan wanted to demolish the temple like Adooru Mahalingeswara temple during his invasion ofCoorg,Tulunadu, andKerala. But after drinking water from the well of the temple, he changed his mind on attacking and demolishing the Garbhagudi and marched past Madhur. But to satisfy his soldiers and Islamic scholars he made a cut with his sword symbolizing the attack. The mark is still visible on the building that is built around the temple well.[2]
This is one of the sixGanapathi temples of ancientTulunadu. The other five are Sharavu Mahaganapathy inMangalore, Mahaganapathy in Anegudde (Kumbashi), Siddi Vinayaka inHattiangadi (Kundapura),Dwibhuja Ganapathy in Idagunji, and Ganapati atGokarna.[3]
Devotees from all over throng during the various festivals that happen here. Currently, the temple is managed by the government. The temple also offers Veda classes to young vatus during summer vacation which also includes the basics of Sanskrit. The accommodation and food for the vatus are arranged by the temple authorities.
The temple architecture is of 3-tiered gajaprishta type resembling the back of an elephant. The lower layer walls feature intricate wooden carvings of Ganesha in different poses. One can also find beautiful wooden carvings depicting scenes from the Ramayana. The vast spaciousgopurams give a good ambiance for the devotees to relax and enjoy theGanapathi`s presence.[4]
Devotees usually offer prayers to Mahaganapathi in the form of "Udayastamana". "Appa", Madhur's famous prasad, is a very tasty preparation. This is prepared daily and anyone offering prayers can avail these at the counters. Among the special poojas that are performed, "Sahasrappa" (Thousand appas) is very prominent. It consists of making an offering of thousand appas and then the devotees get to take home all these (and eat them with full relish). Another very special pooja that happens isMoodappam Seva which involves covering the Mahaganapathi statue withAppam. This is usually done on a community scale. Ganesh Chaturthi and Madhur Bedi are the occasions when the temple is at its busiest. The temple usually carries out special poojas on all the major festivals.[4]
