ABOUT

The Varahamoorthy temple is situated in Panniyoor village of Palakkad district, but the nearest town is Kuttipuram of Malappuram district, which is about 15 km away. The temple is known for its incomplete structure and the story behind it is very interesting. It is said that the construction of the temple was done by master craftsman Perumthachan, who was the son of ancient sage Vararuchi. The construction went on so well that it was expected to outshine the temples in heaven. Lord Indra, the god of the gods, grew jealous. He began to disrupt Perunthachan’s efforts everyday in order to ensure that it would remain incomplete. Finally, a defeated Perunthachan quit the work of constructing the temple as well as his career as a carpenter.The temple of Sri Varaha Murthy was built by Parashurama about 4000 years into the past. For around 3000 years since its inception this temple was considered as the prime temple of Kerala. It is also said that for an approximate period of 1300 years ranging from 800BC (when the Brahmanas ruled Kerala) to 600 AD (around the end of Peranakan rule), Sri Varaha Murthy, the reigning God of Kerala’s renowned village Panniyur, was worshipped as the supreme god of Kerala. Some recently found stone engravings at Panniyur reveal that 1200 years ago there was an active organisation by the name ‘Panniyuraayiram’, which as its name suggests had 1000 members who were devoted towards carrying out the various cultural and religious activities of the temple. This again stands to emphasise the prominence that this temple enjoyed in those days.