) on left and the Vellatom or Cheriya Muttapan (
Shiva) on right accompanied by a dog A version of the legend of Ponnu Muthappan is narrated here: The King of Ayyankara Vazhunnor of
Eruvessi village and his wife, Padikutty Amma, had no offspring. Padikutty was an ardent devotee of
Shiva and when she found a baby floating in a basket of flowers in the river water when she was coming back after a bath in the river, she took it as the blessing of Lord Shiva, and so was her husband. The child grew up and in his boyhood, he was always for the benefit of downtrodden and poor people. However, to the agony of his family he practiced hunting, and also started eating flesh, which was not allowed for a Naduvazhi. Unable to bear the indictments from his family, the boy decided to leave home. When his mother attempted to stop him, he looked at her in fury and appeared in his original godly figure before the parent. She bowed down before her son. Nonetheless, she requested him to cover his eyes with a
Poikannu, a type of shield for the eyes, since she was afraid that such a fiery look on another occasion may cause to emanate the cosmic force,
Shakti, that could change the entire world. Wearing a shield on his eyes, he left the family, and passed through various villages in
Malabar, such as Kunnathurpadi, Puralimala, Padavil,
Thillenkeri,
Kannapuram,
Parassinikadavu and Valluvankadav. The legend also describes a dog which always followed Muthappan throughout his journey. Hence, in the temple of Muthappan, dogs are considered divine and the temple entrance has an idol of dog, at both sides. ==Rituals and festivals==