Panniyur Maha Varaha Temple

The great Varaha  temple of Kerala  famous for its Abeeshta Sidhi pooja(Desire  fulfilling  worship)

Panniyur  Maha Varaha  Temple

Compiled  by

P.R.Ramachander

   This is  the very famous  Varaha temple in Kerala (There is a Lakshmi Varaha  temple in Trivandrum)   and it is believed  that it was the first temple to be consecrated by Lord Parasurama after   recovering  the land of Kerala   from the sea.It is situated in a place called KUmbidi  in Palakkad district , near a place called Kuttipuram

There  is an interesting story about   this temple .Lord Parsurama  r to get rid of  the sin of killing  several kshatriyas  had to dobate   all the land he had won to sage Kashyapa. After that he became a person who is landless .AS per instruction of Lord Vishnu  , he   stood up  on the  Gokarna mountains  and threw his axe in to the sea and recovered some land  from the sea.The new land had lots of problems  and Lord Vishnu  instructed  him  to v build a Varaha  temple so that  the land gets stabilised.This is the temple of Mahavaraha  in Panniyur , Kumbdi. Some how atttemptes to build a temple v building there   did not succeed .Once when some carpenters were trying to v build it , an old man who was sad came  in to the temple .The carpenters neglected him and even refused to give him food.He was Perumthachan the great carpenter  who was son of  sage Vararuchi.He theninspected the wod that  they were  going to use  to build the temple  and  marked several defects in them and left. But that night the carpenters were woken up by the sound of chisel of Peruthachan , who completed the work of that temple. HE then told that carpenters that  he  would never  touch the chisel and this would be the last   temple built by him .His chisel and rod are still preserved  u in this great temple.

  Later many families of Nambudiris settled in Kerala.The family called Azhvanchery  THambrakkal  settled down  in Panniyur and Kalpanchery thamprakkal   settled down in the neighbouring Suka puram. There was  rivalry between these villages and in this rivalry where black magic was involved the original idol of Maha Varaha   was  broken and burnt.A  great scholar   called Appath  Adeeri   six hundred years  that the temple would regain its glory He had also predicted  that  if a devotee says. “Varahamurthy  Rakshikkane(Oh Lord Varaha please protect me” thrice , he would  get fred  of all his problems. He also had said that  any one doing “Abeeshta Karya Sidhi pooja”(Worship  for fulfilment of desires) in this temple   would  get g his desires fulfilled.

   A recent Deva Prashna conducted in 1983 had indicated  that in two revolutions of Saturn(60 years)  the temple would become as prominenent as  Guruvayur and SAbari Mala

This temple is the only one in Kerala to worship the ‘Varaha’ avatar of Shri Vishnu. This temple also houses and worhips Updevtas like Sri Shiva  (‘Vadakovil’), Sri Ayyappa, Sri Durgabhagavathy, Sri Ganapathy, Sri Subramanya and Sri Lakshmi Narayan. This temple is also said to have the blessings of Chitragupta and Yakshi. This temple also has a stage and a huge ground to accommodate spectators. The legendary ‘Panniyur thura’ is located just to the North of the Mahakshetra. It is believed that the fishpond constructed by Parashuram used to be located just a little south of the temple.

Among the different pujas conducted here the most important one happens to be the ‘Abhishta Sidhdhi Puja’. This puja costs Rs.101/- and is believed to pave way for ‘Abhishta Karya Sidhdhi’.

The Temple is situated in Kumbdi, a village in Palakkad district on the border of Malappuram district is just 4 km from the Keltron Junction, in between Kuttippuram and Edappal on SH-69 ( Kuttippuram-Thrissur Highway ). The famous Guruvayur temple is only 33 km away.

By Road

There are KSRTC and private buses available to Kumbidi from nearby towns.

Routes by Road

Thrissur/Guruvayur side take Kunnamkulam-Edappal route(SH-69) and before reaching Kuttippuram take right at Keltron Jn. to Kumbidi.

Kozhikode side take Valanchery-Kuttippuram route (NH-17), after Kuttippuram bridge take left at Keltron Jn. to Kumbidi.

Palakkad side take Ottappalam-Pattambi-Thrithala route to Kumbidi.

By Rail

Nearest railway station is at Kuttippuram is only 7 km away

By Air

The nearest airport is Calicut International Airport (distance 70 km) and the Cochin International/Nedumbassery Airport (distance 100 km) away. All major International flight services are operated from these airports.

Panniyur Sri Varahamurthy Temple is open from 6 AM to 10 AM and from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM 

'Sandhya Deeparadhana'(Pooja during evening time) is considered as the most auspicious time to seek the blessings of Sri Varahamurthy when idol would be covered  in sandal paste   and adorned in Jewellery  

Location and Contact

Panniyur Sri Varahamurthy Temple, Aanakkara, Palakkad, Kerala - 679 551

 +91 466 202 2125