Madhur Temple

History

Madhur temple was originally Madhanentheswara (Shiva) Temple and as the lore goes, an old so called "low caste" lady "Madaru" discovered an "Udbhava Murthy" (a statue that was not made by a human) of shiva linga. The Ganapathy statue was drawn by a priest's son, a small Brahmin boy, on the walls of the Garbhagriha(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 says Tipu Sultan wanted to demolish the temple like Adooru Mahalingeswara temple during his invasion of Coorg, Tulunadu, and Malabar. But after drinking water from the well of the temple, he changed his mind on attacking and demolishing the Garbhagudi and marched towards Malabar. But to satisfy his soldiers and Islamic scholars he made a cut with his sword symbolising the attack. The mark is still visible on the building that is built around the temple well. The temple architecture is of 3-tiered gajaprishta type resembling the back of an elephant. One can also find beautiful wooden carvings depicting scenes from the Ramayana.The vast spacious gopurams give good ambiance for the devotees to relax and enjoy the Ganapathi`s presence.

Facts

This is one of the most famous Ganapathi temples of six ganpathi temples of ancients Tulunadu . 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 included basics of sanskrit. The accommodation and food for the vatus are arranged by the temple authorities.

This is the greatest temple of Shiva.

Prayers and offerings made

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 is Moodappam Seva which involves covering the Mahaganapathi statue with Appam. 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.

Temple timings

Morning: 05:00 AM to 1:30 PM

Evening: 05:30 PM to 08:00 PM

For the devotees

During the rainy season, a river adjoining the temple overflows and spills onto the temple campuses and thus this is not the best time to visit the temple. The temple is busier on Sundays than on weekdays. Poojas are performed daily at 8:00am, 12:30 noon and 8:00pm.

There is also "Prasada Bhojana" arranged by the temple authorities where in free meals which is prasada of the lord is served. Many people are fan of the taste of sambar here.

Reaching Madhur

Madhur is a village about 7 km from the district headquarters Kasaragod. There are private buses every ten minutes from Kasaragod private bus stands (both old and new). Auto rickshaws are also available which charge more than 100 rupees from the town. The buses are regularly available from 7 am to 8 pm.

Accommodation

Karnataka Bhavan lodge provides good quality rooms at reasonable rate here. It is the sole lodging facility close to the temple. One can also stay in kasargod town. There are lots of veg options and good places to stay. There are also canteen kind of hotels nearby temple. As madhur is a temple village, you can get all kind of shops selling necessary things. People speak kannada, tulu, malayalam, english and hindi well.