Goddess Yellamma is also known as Goddess Renuka, she was the daughter of King Renuka. She was married to Jamadagni. Jamadagni was a very short tempered person and everyone was very scared of his angry nature as he had attained supreme powers through offering penance to God. Renuka had five sons; Rambhadra was the youngest and was believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu also known as Parshurama. Everyday Renuka went to the river Malapraha to take a bath and after that she would make a fresh pot of sand, fill water in it and catch a snake, turn it into a rope like a coil and put it on her head to support the pot and give this water to her husband to perform rituals.This was possible for her only due to her selfless devotion towards her husband.One day when she went to the river, she saw some Gandharvas playing in the river. For a moment she got distracted from her husband and got fascinated to one of the Gandharvas, and then when she tried making the pot out of sand somehow she couldn't make it. Also the snakes vanished. Upset Renuka returned home and revealed all this to her husband, furious Jamadagni cursed her and asked her sons to kill to which the four elder sons refused, but Parshurama agreed to behead his mother and did that with an axe. Jamadagni then granted a wish to Parshurama, in which Parshurama asked for the life of his mother and brothers. To everyone's amazement the spirit of Renuka multiplied and travelled to different locations. And then she was back together. This marvel influenced her sons and others to worship her.

This temple is a classic example of the beautiful craftsmanship and architecture of Rashtrakuta and Chalukyan dynasties. Also there are inscriptions in the temple which testify its connection with the Rashtrakuta emperors Vikramaditya and Krishna. These are Jain inscriptions in Kannada and Sanskrit.

This temple boasts of a grand annual festival during the month of Margasira and around 10-12 lakh devotees attend it enthusiastically.