Kere means pond, so Guruvayanakere literally means "pond of the master". The town gets the name because of this pond, one of the 12 sacred natural ponds formed by the Kumaradhara river that flows in the Beltangady district. Known as the Pandharapura of the south, situated here is a temple tucked under a huge peepul tree. The temple is renowned for its 49-day akhanda(uninterrupted) bhajan programmes called 'Sapthaanu Saptaha' meaning seven weeks. According to a local legend, Lord Vitthala appeared as a devotee to sing bhajans at this place and disappeared.
The bhajan programme went on every year uninterrupted from 1956 to 1974 but after that due to the dilapidated temple premises, this was stopped. Subsequently, thanks to the generous donation of Pankaje Narasimha Nayak from Puttur the shrine was rebuilt. The idol was reconsecrated (punah prathisthapana) in 1987 on the 13th lunar day of Narasimha Jayanti graced by Shri Sudheendra Teetha Swamiji of Kashi Math.
In 1997 the bhajan programme was restarted and continues till date.