PANNIYOORSRI VARAHA MOORTHY TEMPLE, NEARPATTAMBI, PALGHAT DISTRICT, KERALA- COMPILED
Dear friends, Panniyoor Sri VarahaMoorthy Temple is one of the oldest and famous temple in Kerala that worships the 'Varaha'avatar of Lord Vishnu. Around 4000 years old, the temple was built by sage Parashurama. The temple is located in Kumbidivillage near Pattambi in PalakkadDistrict. Other deities worshipped in the temple are Lord Shiva, Ayyappa, Durga, Ganesha,Subramanya and Lakshmi Narayan. For around 3000 years since itsinception this temple was considered as the prime Varaha temple of Kerala. Some recently found stone engravings at Panniyur reveal that 1200 years ago there wasan active organisation by the name ‘Panniyuraayiram’, which as its namesuggests had 1000 members who were devoted towards carrying out the variouscultural and religious activities of the temple. This again stands to emphasisethe prominence that this temple enjoyed in those days. Sri Varaha Moorthy Temple also has a stage and a huge groundto accommodate spectators. The legendary ‘Panniyur thura’ is located just tothe North of the Mahakshetra. It is believed that the fishpond constructed by sage Parashuramais located just a little south of thetemple. Today my posting is about this temple. Hope a divine reading. Gopalakrishnan 10-09-2025. Introduction The Panniyur SriVarahamurthy Temple is an ancient Hindu temple complex situated at Kumbidi,Pattambi taluk, Palakkad district of Kerala, India. The temple is believed tobe the first temple in Kerala consecrated by Parasurama. The temple isdedicated to Varaha, the third avatar of Vishnu, who is positioned with GoddessBhumi. The temple is included among the108 Abhimana Kshethrams in Vaishnavate tradition. Panniyur SriVarahamurthy Temple-Gist about thetemple Significance: It's considered the first temple dedicated toVaraha in Kerala, built by Parashurama, and was once the prime temple of thestate. Location: Situated in Kumbidi village, Palakkad district. Deity: Lord Varahamurthy, the third avatar of Lord Vishnu, isthe presiding deity. Other deities: The temple complex also includes shrines forLord Shiva, Ayyappa, Durga, and Ganesha. Rituals: BhumiPuja and Abhisheka Siddhi Puja are performed to help resolve issuesrelated to land and property. Legend of Varahaavatharam(incarnation) The story of the Varaha Avatar describes Lord Vishnu taking the form of a large boar to rescue the Earth (Bhudevi) after thedemon Hiranyaksha submerged it into the Garbhodaka Ocean. After a fierce, thousand-year battle, Vishnu as the boardefeated Hiranyaksha and lifted the Earth on his tusks, restoring cosmic orderand saving the planet from the depths of the ocean. The Crisis-During a period when the universe was mostlywater, the demon Hiranyaksha stole the Earth and dragged it to the bottom ofthe cosmic ocean. The planet was in danger of being lost forever. Vishnu's Intervention-To save the Earth, Lord Vishnu assumedthe form of Varaha, a mighty boar. With a powerful leap, Varaha dived into theocean in search of Bhudevi. The Battle-Varaha located Hiranyaksha and the submerged Earthin the ocean's depths. A fierce battle ensued between the boar-form of Vishnu andHiranyaksha, which legends say lasted for a thousand years. The Rescue and Restoration-The divine boar, Varaha,eventually defeated and killed Hiranyaksha. He then used his tusks to lift the Earth from the ocean's bedand returned it to its rightful place, restoring cosmic balance. Significance-The Varaha Avatar symbolizes divine interventionto protect and sustain the world from demonic forces. It represents the triumph of good over evil and the cosmicforce capable of restoring order during times of chao Legend about thetemple Following his victory over the Kshatriyas, Parashuram haddonated all that he had won to sage Kashyapa. He had then sought a piece of landto carry out his meditation, and so he had pulled out a small fragment of landfrom the sea with the permission of seaGod Varuna, for the purpose. History claims that this small fragment of landform parts of what is now known as Kerala. EventuallyParashuram's piece of land had begun rising and expanding. Disturbed, Parashuram had soughtNarada’s help. Narada had advised him to pray to Lord Vishnu. And so Parashuramhad begun his meditation in order to propitiate Lord Vishnu. Finally Vishnu hadappeared before him and had said, "Once I had assumed the form of Varahamurthy tosave the world. Worship that form of mine and this place will have theblessings of ‘Thri Murthy’." The temple of Sri Varaha Murthy was built by Parashuramaabout 4000 years into the past. For around 3000 years since its inception thistemple was considered as one of the prime temples of Kerala. Recorded History It is also said that for an approximate period of 1300 yearsranging from 800BC (when the Brahmanas ruled Kerala) to 600 AD (around the endof Perumakkal rule), Sri Varaha Murthy, the reigning God of Kerala's renownedvillage Panniyur, was worshipped as the supreme god of Kerala. Some recentlyfound stone engravings at Panniyur reveal that 1200 years ago there was anactive organisation by the name ‘Panniyuraayiram’, which as its name suggestshad 1000 members who were devoted towards carrying out the various cultural andreligious activities of the temple. This again stands to emphasise theprominence that this temple enjoyed in those days. Destruction of theidol Of the 32 Gramams of Namboothiris, Panniyur and Sukapuramwere the most prominent. Azhvanchery Thamprakkal and Kalpakanchery Thamprakkalwere the leaders of Sukapuram and Panniyur respectively. Every Malayali Brahmin owedallegiance either to Sukapuram or to Panniyur. There was unhealthy rivalry between the two Gramams. Inorder to defeat the scholastically superior Sukapuram, some of the Namboothirisof Panniyur went outside Kerala and brought their Guru to the Land of Varaha.It is also believed that they started worshipping Goddess Varthali andpractising some of the secret rites of Tantric Buddhism violating thedirections of Lord Varaha. Furthermore, they burned and destroyed the idol of Lord Varaha.So the status of these Namboothiris was lowered by the Zamorin. Againreconstruction was done. Architecture Legend has it that Perunthachan, the legendary architect andmaster carpenter, was asked to build a temple that would match its counterpartsin heaven. Lord Indra, the king of the gods, was worried about the prospectivesplendour of the earthly temple, and interrupted Perunthachan’s efforts daily,ensuring that the temple never got completed. You can still see thoseunfinished structures inside the temple complex. Following the demise of his beloved son, for which he heldhimself responsible, a mentally disturbed Perumthachan, the great carpenter, through the course of his wanderingshad reached Panniyur. Weighed down by fatigue, hunger and thirst he had soughtrelief from the carpenters who had been then carrying out rejuvenation work atthe Mahakshetram. Having failed to identify the‘Master’ of their profession, the workers quite conspicuously neglected him andafterwards broke for lunch without uttering even a single word to him. Quite shocked and angry by such behaviour from their side,the ‘Master’ decided to teach them a lesson. He went inside the sanctum sanctorum where the carpentershad kept blocks of wood ready to be converted into columns. The‘Master’ made some marks on those wood blocks before resuming his journey. When the workers returned, they quite unwarily sawed along the marksmade by the ‘Master’; all the columns just fell short of their appropriatelengths. Their careers and professions at stake, they suddenly realisedthat the ill-dressed man they had so criminally neglected at lunchtime was themaster carpenter Perumthachan himself, and that it was he who caused all thisturmoil. Repenting for their behaviour, they decided to seek himthe following day and beg for his forgiveness; and so decided they had settled down for the night. They were woken up in themiddle of the night by the sound of hammering and chiselling from inside theSree Kovil. They rushedinside to find that the old man had come back and that he had just finishedadding the final touches to their pending work. Amazed and thrilled, theysought his forgiveness. They said, "Oh Master! So many of us have been deriving our livelihoods outof the work we used to do here. Now that you have completed the work we’ll berendered jobless." Perumthachan replied, "Do not worry, friends! Panniyur temple will neverever be short of work to offer members of our profession. Anyway I will never touch my chisel and measuring rod ever again." So saying he had dropped down his chisel and rod, which havebeen ever carefully preserved by his followers at Panniyur Mahakshetram and arestill available for everyone for see. Chief deity Varaha Murthy is facing East in the sanctum. The earlier idolgot destroyed in calamities. Present idol installed in 1758 has face of Varaha onhuman body and stands on the hood of Aadi Sesha. On the left lap we can seeBhoomi devi, The idol holds bow and arrow as well and conch. Sub deities There are only very few temples in Kerala that worship the‘Varaha’ avatar of Shri Vishnu. This temple also houses and worships Updevtas like Sri Shiva(‘Vadakovil’), Sri Ayyappa, Sri Durgabhagavathy, Sri Ganapathy, Sri Subramanyaand Sri Lakshmi Narayan. This temple is also said to have the blessings of Chitragupta and Yakshi. Poojas Three poojas are held daily - Usha Pooja (6:30 AM), UchchaPooja (9:30 AM) and Athazha Pooja (7:30 PM). Among the different pujas conducted here the most importantone happens to be the ‘AbhishtaSiddhi Puja’. This puja is believed to pave way for ‘Abhishta KaryaSidhdhi’. This puja is booked in advance till a long time into the future. Yetwith due consideration to those who visit this temple, 3 days in a week havebeen earmarked for the conduct of this puja immediately or as soon as can bemanaged for all such devotees. ‘Sandhya Deeparadhana’ is considered as the most auspicioustime to seek the blessings of Sri Varahamurthy. Covered in sandalwood paste andadorned in scintillating jewellery, the divine form of Sri Varahamurthy is forevery mind to embrace and seek solace with. Varaha Jayanti is the birth celebration of thethird incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He incarnated himself as a boar to save theworld and held Earth on the two tusks from under the ocean. Varaha Jayanthi atPanniyur Varaha Moorthy temple is celebrated in the Malayalam month of Meenam(March/April). Temple timings Temple is open from 6 AM to 10 AM and from 5:30 PM to 7:30PM. Festivals The Varahajayanthi in the temple starts with special poojas andofferings to the devotees. The seven-day festival ends with elephant processionwith Panchavadyam. After theDeeparadhana in the evening temple premises offers visual treat to the devoteeswith various cultural programmes like dance and music. Kalam ezhuthu paatu is on the sixth day. Kalam is aunique drawing also called dhulee chithram or powder drawing. The artist usesthe floor as his canvas. Kalamezhuthu pattu is performed as part of therituals. The kalams or drawings are erased at the end of the ritual to theaccompaniment of musical instruments like ilathalam, veekan chenda, kuzhal,kombu and chenda. Predictions of Adeeri Maha pundit Appath Adeeri had written his autobiography onpieces of copper around 600 years back, in which he has made his predictionsfor the future. These pieces were found recently and the scriptures have beentranslated into Malayalam. The Maha pundit had predicted that the PanniyurMahakshetram would definitely regain its lost glory and fame. The time thathe had indicated in his writings is ripe now. He had foretold that when thisblessed day arrives, everyone who believes in Shri Varahamurthy would beblessed with ‘Abhishta Karya Sidhdhi’ (i.e. the realisation of everything thatone had prayed for). Devoteesbelieve that when in peril, if one utters the words ‘Varahamurthy Rakshikane’(save me, Varahamurthy) thrice, Shri Varahamurthy would rescue one from allimpending perils and dangers. The Devaprashnangal The ‘Devaprashnangal’ held here since 1983 indicate thatwithin the next two revolutionary periods of the Saturn, this temple shallenhance in prestige and prominence to be at par with great temples likeGuruvayur and Shabarimala. It is clear that Shri Varahamurthy has reincarnatedhimself at this temple to bless one and everyone. Many a devotee has claimedthat he/she has already felt the blessing and glorious presence of ShriVarahmurthy. It is said that all devotees of Shri Varahamurthy shall be blessedwith ‘Abhishta Karya Sidhdhi’. And hence the number of devotees of ShriVarahamurthy is increasing day by day. Location The Temple is situated in Kumbidi, a village in Palakkaddistrict on the border of Malappuram district is just 4 km from the KeltronJunction, in between Kuttippuram and Edappal on SH-69 ( Kuttippuram - ThrissurHighway ). The famous Guruvayur temple is only 33 km away. By road, there are KSRTC and privatebuses available to Kumbidi from nearby towns. The nearest railwaystation is at Kuttippuram is only 7 km away. The nearest airport isCalicut InternationalAirport (distance 70 km) Main Offerings Among the different pujas conducted here the most importantone happens to be the ‘Abhishta Sidhdhi Puja’. It is believed to pave way for‘Abhishta Karya Sidhdhi’. The other Poojas are; Pushpanjali, Bhagya SookthaPushpanjali, Sree Sooktha Pushpanjali, Swayamvara Sooktha Pushpanjali, AikyaSooktha Pushpanjali, Purusha Sooktha Pushpanjali, Saraswatha SookthaPushpanjali, Sahasra Nama Pushpanjali, Neyyu Payasam, Thrimadhuram, PanjasaraPayasam, Kadina Payasa, How To Reach By Air: Calicut International Airport is the nearest airportsituated at 58.3KMs from the temple. By Rail: Kuttippuram Railway Station which is 7.7KMs awayfrom the temple. By Road: Kuttipuram KSRTC and Private Bus stand is 8KMs awayfrom the temple. Address and Phonenumber Panniyoor Sri Varaha Moorthy Temple Kumbidi PalakkadDistrict Kerala- 679553 Phone : 0466 2022125 Administration It is managed by the Panniyur Devaswom, which falls under theRaja Zamorin of Calicut. The Malabar Devaswom Board also has authority over thetemple -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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