Padi Igguthappa Temple Coorg

Padi Igguthappa Temple, dedicated to Igguthappa is the most important deity of Kodavas and Kul Devta of the Kodagu or Coorg in the state of Karnataka. In ancient times, he was probably the God of rain and crop. The crop being the basis of the survival of humans and rain being the survival of crops makes sense. The first crop of Paddy is still offered to the Lord every year at this temple by the local farmers. After this, the harvest festival called Puttari officially begins in the Coorg region.

The main deity at Padi Iguthappa temple is Subramanya or Karthik, son of Shiva and Kaveri Amman, considered an avatar of Gauri. Temple houses the idols of both Shiva and Igguthappa. In this region, the river Kaveri is Kaveri Amma, the omnipresent deity of Coorg and its people.

The deity of God Igguthappa is enshrined in this temple in the form of a Shiva Linga with a Nagarike that is a snake hood covering.

Architecture

This temple was built in 1810 by King Lingarajendra.It is a stone temple with a slating wooden.The roof on the side of the entrance is beautifully carved with metal adornments. There are elephant motifs on either side.Outer walls of the temple are adorned with stone slabs telling the tales of Kodavas.

Legend

The story goes that Igguthappa was the 4th sibling of the 7 celestial siblings who landed on the Malabar coast in a golden conch shell and it was believed as a representation of Gods powers.These seven children were known as ‘Evamakka Devaru’ which means children of God in the folklore of Kodava. The boys were named Kankratappa, Thiruchabarappa, Bendru Kolappa, Igguthappa, Paaloorappa and Thirunelli Pemmayya while the girl was named Thangamma. The girl was later popularly known as Pannangaala Thamme.

The three elder brothers chose a village for each one in Kerala and settled there.The 4 younger siblings crossed the western ghats to reach the region of Coorg.

The eldest brother of these – Igguthappa decided to stay here and provide the people of Kodagu with rain and rice. Others moved on to other regions.

An annual festival is held at the Padi Iguthappa temple in the month of March and people from all over Coorg and near by places gather here to offer special prayers. Special offering like “Tulabhara”, where the devotee weighs oneself against coconuts, sugar, rice, fruits etc, on a weighing scale and offers it to the god is performed here.