The Origin of Velam Sreemahaganapati Temple

The story of the Rajarajeswara Temple in Velam village and its special focus on Mahaganapati is quite famous. Originally, the temple in Velam was known as the Shiva Temple of Thakede and is now called the Vaidyanatha Temple. A dispute arose between the Brahmins of Velam and Perinchallur over temple rituals and the Rajarajeswara Temple in Taliparamba. One day, when the Brahmins from Velam visited Thalipparamba's Rajarajeswara Temple, they were insulted by the temple authorities. Upset and wanting to worship Rajarajeswara without going to Taliparamba, the Velam Brahmins decided to build a new temple in their village, modelled after the Taliparamba temple. They invited skilled experts from Tharanellur for the consecration ceremony.

However, due to the Taliparamba temple's displeasure and disagreements among Velam’s Brahmins, the consecration faced obstacles. Some Brahmins spread false accusations against Tharananellur thanthrigal and blocked the Rajarajeswara installation. Feeling wronged,Tharananellur thanthrigal installed a Ganapati idol in the southern corridor of the new temple and conducted the rituals there, hoping to give Mahaganapati importance. As a result, Ganapati became significant in the temple, which began to be known as the Velam Sreemahaganapati Temple.