Established by : Devotees who came from Goa about 500 years ago. Pratishtha of Utsava Murti by H.H.Shrimat Bhuvanendra Tirth Swamiji of Shri Kashi Math Samsthan in 1884.

Presiding Deities : Shri Mahaganapati (Vinayaka) and Shri Mahamaya (Shantadurga).

Important Festivals : Car Festival on Margashira Shudda Navami (in the month of Nov./Dec.)

Darshan Seva : Available on Margashira Shuddha 4th, 8th and 10th day. Can be availed by post by writing to the temple manager with kaanika. 
 (Darshan Seva : Other Centres)

Scholarly Archak : Shri Vedavyas Bhat, c/o temple.

GSB Families : 125, Population : 600.

Journey Details : By Road on NH 17. By Train : Bhatkal Rly.Stn., By Konkan Railways.

Nearby Interesting Places : Shri Chitrapur Math & Shri Murdeshwar Temple and the sea beach.

President : Shri P. S. V. Mallya, Tel. : 08252-70617, 
Managing Trustee : Shri Padmanabha Prabhu, Bhatkal. Tel. : 27122 and Shri Ulhas Prabhu, Shirali. Tel. : 28214.

History : This is one of the Kuladevata Temples with Bhats, Puraniks, Mallyas, Kudvas, Nayaks, etc. as the kulavis. The deities were in Goa in the area called Golti and Naveli. On account of the hostile religious policies pursued by the Portuguese rulers around 1560 A.D., the devotees left Goa. Being unable to take with them the idols, they invoked for the ‘saanidhya’ or the presence of the deities in the silver trunk of Lord Ganesha and the face cover of the mother goddess Mahamaya and took with them. They reached Bhatkal and being unable to construct a temple immediately, kept these two symbols in a shop of a devotee, of course offering poojas etc. Later on they could construct a temple in Shirali where it stands today. Therefore, the deities are called Pete Vinayaka and Shantadurga also as they were in the ‘pete’, a town in Kannada. The temple has a unique darshan seva called, “mali”.

SHRI MAHA GANAPATI MAHAMAYA TEMPLE (MGM TEMPLE), SHIRALI, 
Post Shirali 581354(Uttar Kannada) Tel.08385-28274 /28474.
 Grams : MGM Temple Shirali.