Madhur temple, Kasaragod in Kerala that survived Tipu Sultan's onslaught.(1788)

Madhur Temple, Kasaragod town en.wikipedia.org

Madhur sri Vinayaka temple, kerala eralatourism.org

Madhur Temple  located 7 km (4.3 mi) from Kasaragod town, Kerala  is a famous Hindu place of worship once dedicated to God Shiva. It was known as  Madarantheswara (Shiva) Temple as the deity, "Udbhava Murthy" (a statue that was not made by a human).  according to the legend,  was first sighted by an old women  by the name of Madaru from local Tulu Moger Community. 

A boy, while playing,  drew a picture  of god Ganapathy on the  southern wall of the Garbhagriha/Srikovil (sanctum sanctorum). As no body expected, for no reasons, it had begun to grow  big day by day and finally it became very big and fat. The boy called Ganapathi as "boddajja" or "bodda Ganesha".  It is now more  a Ganapathi temple than  a Shive temple. This  Ganapathi temple is one among the six Ganpathi temples of ancient Tulunadu, the other five are located at Mangalore (Sharavu Mahaganapathy), Anegudde, Hattiangadi, Idagunji and Gokarna.

Tipu Sultan of Mysore. nasrani.net

It is said this temple escaped from the fury of Tipu Sultan while on a raid in 1788.  We have recently  heard a lot about Tipu Sultan and his exploits in war. Unfortunately, he became a subject of debate  now, as the Congress party, a few years ago,  wanted to celebrate his birth anniversary as ''Tipu Jayanthi'' in Karnataka. A section of Hindu and Christian communities had reservations about it as Tipu, during his reign, destroyed some temples in Kerala and churches in Karnataka. Because of politicians, Tipu has become a controversial ruler of Mysore. Congress wanted to use 'Tipu Jayanti' as a ruse to get Muslim vote,  and countless people vent their voice. It is not done in good sipirit by the nethas. Even a section of Muslims resent it.

Tipu stuck the sword on the wooden shade. Madhur Temple, Kerala topyaps.com/

Any way,  the  legend has it Tipu Sultan, who came down to Kerala on a war expedition,  wanted to demolish the temple like Adooru Mahalingeswara temple during his invasion of Coorg, Tulunadu, and Malabar. As he  and his army were thirsty after a long journey they decided to drink the temple water  to quench their thirst first. But after drinking water from the  temple tank, Tipu 
changed his mind to destroy  the Garbhagudi/ sanctum  and then marched towards Malabar. However, it is said, he made a cut with his sword on the front wooden panel of the temple, symbolizing the attack. The mark is still visible on the building that is built around the temple well. 

Water tank, Madhur temple,Kasaragod town.topyaps.com/

Above image;  This is the water tank at Madhur temple where Tipu's army quenched their thirst. For unknown reasons, his army never attacked this temple. The temple tank water might have changed Tip's mind upon experiencing some divine vision.  ...........................................

The temple  built in Kerala style  of architecture is of 3-tiered gajaprishta  structure  meaning resembling the back of an elephant.  There are nice  wooden carvings depicting scenes from the  great epic the Ramayana. This well-built temple offers a fine ambiance for those who want to meditate and be at peace with themselves.  The temple is running Vadha Patasala and teach Sanskrit.

The main offering (naivaidyam)  to the deity by the devotees  here is in the form of "Udayastamana". Madhur is famous for this Appa" as the prasad, is a very tasty and mouth-watering.   Among puja rituals "Sahasrappa" (Thousand appas) is popular and is done by devotees once their wish is fulfilled. It is a sort of thanks-giving to the God.  As we may be aware, ''man's success is driven by trust besides his hard work'', this type of offerings is done in many Hindu temples by the devotees.  Yet another  special pooja is Moodappam Seva . It is done by  covering the Mahaganapathi idol  with Appam. This is usually done on a community scale.  This temple is overcrowded on the festival days of Ganesh Chaturthi and Madhur  Bedi.

Local people refer to this temple as the one that escaped the fury of ''Tipu Sultan'' of Mysore. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhur_Temple
 https://topyaps.com/tipu-sultan-kerala-temple/
https://www.nasrani.net/2007/05/06/the-tiger-and-the-syrian-christians-tipu-sultans-padayottam/