About Padutirupathi

This temple has historical background and it dates back to 14th century when the Jain Bhairarasa Odeyars ruled Karkala and neighboring places. The Gaud Saraswat Brahmins came to Karnataka in search of place food and shelter. The Jain Odeyars donated land to the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins to lead a happy life. They also donated lands for agriculture as these Brahmin people had it as an occupation. The priests of this community namely Joishys, Puraniks and Tantris are the main people who had an existence from 14th century. There are no records or written documents about the exact date of installation of this temple.

The Gaud Saraswat Brahmins brought with them all their articles and household items which also included idol of Lord Venkataramana. One day all these Gaud Saraswat Brahmins met Jain King Immadi Bhairava and requested to grant a land to build a temple for Lord Sree Venkataramana. The Jain king happily granted them the Land for the very same purpose with some black stones which were common all over the area. This indicates that the Jains were patronized to other religions also. The land which they gave to these Gaud Saraswat Brahmins was occupied by a lady of some Mutt (religious institution for learning Vedas and Puranas). The lady heeded to the people and Jains only one condition that, "There are four powerful Ganas (Lord Shiva`s Servants) who should be worshipped and given sacrifices of coconuts, green pumpkins, Turmeric and so on; unless they would get angry. Also a yearly sacrifice should be performed as no unholy things may happen in and around here".

The Gaud Saraswat Brahmins and Jain King agreed to lady and then temple was constructed. Initially a huge platform was built and four pillars were made to stand in the four corners. Entangled coconut leaves were made as a roof for it. The idol was installed inside the temple and prayers were offered for goodness of people. The compound wall was in its progress for building up the blocks. One day Soma Sharma returned to Karkala from Tirupathi with another idol of Lord Sree Venkataramana which was given to him by the priests at Tirumala and this was at the end of 14th century. He installed this idol with the previously installed idol of Lord Venkataramana in the newly built stone platform.

In 1500 AD, a group of dacoits attacked the temple the priests saved the main idols and valuables items by throwing them down a well in Mulki. As days progressed, they could retrieve the belongings of the temple except for the main deity. However, a person in Mulki found the statue in the well and thought that the Lord wanted to stay in this place and built the temple in Mulki. When people of Karkala came to know about this they rushed to Mulki and requested to return the idol; but by that time Mulki people had already installed the idol in Sree Veer Vittal Temlpe. People of Karkala stayed there and slept the whole night. It is said that the Lord appeared in people's dreams and asked them to leave his statue with residents of Mulki. He seemed to have reassured them that a hermit would present them his statue in which he resides. The people of Karkala returned back and as told by the Lord himself, a hermit of Tirumala, who was a loyal devotee of Lord Venkatramana from Tirupati, came to Karkala and presented the Lord's statue with the condition that the proceeds of the temple be given to Tirupathi. Heeding to the condition, people of Karkala undertake a pilgrimage to Tirupati each year to present the temple's proceeds. The installation of new idol of Lord Venkataramana was done in 1537 and the renovation of the temple took place in the year 1700.