Thiruchendur Murugar temple

It is situated at Tuticorin District, Tamilnadu ; about 60 km south-east of Tirunelveli, 40 km from Tuticorin and 75 km north-east of Kanyakumari.

Thiruchendur is the one among the 6 abodes of Lord Muruga is also called as Arulmigu Subramanyaswamy Thirukoil . The others being Thiruthani near Thiruvallur, Chennai . Palamudhircholai and Thiruparankundram near Madurai . Pazhani near Dindugal . Swamimalai near Kumbakonam .

This temple is considered to be 2500 years old . Lord Muruga won the battle with the asura, Surapadma and worshipped Lord Shiva in this sacred place. The temple is situated along the shores of the Bay of Bengal .

Those who visit this temple takes a holy dip in the sea and then in the Nazhi kinaru near by then visit Lord Muruga. Nazhi Kinaru is said to have sprung up as Shanmukha planted His lance the Vel on the spot.

Normally, the Raja Gopuram will be in the eastern side of temples in Tamil Nadu. But in Tiruchendur alone the Raja Gopuram is in the western side. It is said that the Raja Gopuram was not erected on the eastern side since the sea is very close in the eastern side.

Mela Gopuram has nine storeys and it is about 137 feet high above Yalimattam, 90 feet long north to south and 65 feet broad east to west. At the top of the Gopuram the width is 20 feet and the length is 49 feet. To indicate that the Gopuram consists of 9 storeys there are nine Kalasams (sacred copper pots) at the top of the Gopuram Thiruchendur murugan temple .

As usual the darshan starts with lord Ganesha shrine inside the temple. Then you’ll get the glimpse of sanctum of lord Subramanya. Main God Sri Subramanya Swamy’s Idol is just about 2 feet height and he is so elegant and charming that devotee’s eyes would wish to rest there forever.

You can also go and visit the Pancha Linga shrine (5 lingas), which is under a cave, right below the sanctum. People say that the Lord Subramanya performed puja to the Pancha Linga to overcome his anger after killing the demon Surapadman. Inside the cave, there’s a narrow opening to the sky through which Lord Devendra also offers his prayers to Lord Shiva. As it’s believed that the Lord subramanya Himself performing puja to the Lingas, no one else is allowed to perform Puja here.

Next is the Utsava murthy – Shanmugar is just right next to the sanctum. The Shanmuga idol itself has a big history to trace behind. It’s believed that in the early 17th century AD, Shanmuga’s idol looted away by the Dutch government and was carried away in their ship. There was a sudden storm and the Dutch grew afraid and threw the idol into the sea. Vadamalaiyappa Pillai, an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga saw a vision of the idol’s position in his dream. Immediately, he and several other devotees rushed to the spot where as foretold in the dream a lemon was floating and Garuda was flying over the spot. They drove into the sea and recovered the statue. We still can see the salty sea burns on the idol.

On the outer sanctum, there is a Maha Vishnu sannidhi (with a Lord Ranganatha shrine curved on the sandal stone rock ). Then there is the Kalyana Ganapathi shrine. Outside the temple, you could visit the Valli cave temple, where Valli hid herself when Lord Ganesha took the form of an elephant and frightened her, to help Lord Subramanya during His romance with Valli .

This temple is famous its “Panneer ilai Vibhuti” which is praised by Sri Adi Shankaracharya that the mere vision of the Panneer leaf Vibhuthi would cure many incurable diseases.

Kanda Sashti is one of the grand celebrations here – corresponding to the six days of the war over the evil forces. Devotees undertake fasts, prayers and devotional singing to Lord Muruga and most of the devotees stay in the temples during these six days.

Dedicated prayer during the Kanda Sashti viradham would come true. This is truly one of the most powerful temples .

In most Murugan temples, Kanda Sashti festival is celebrated for six days only. In some temples it is celebrated for seven days, with the divine wedding of Lord Murugan the day after Sashti. But in Thiruchendur the festival is held for twelve days; the first six days of Kanda Sashti comprise Sashti Viradham (the vow of Sashti) and Sura Samharam (the annihilation of the demon, Sura), on the seventh day it is the divine wedding of Lord Murugan and Deivannai, and in the next five days, the Lord in his wedding gear appears and blesses in the Unjal Sevai that is, sitting on the swing.

The December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami , the waves destroyed everything around the temple but did not touch the temple itself. It is a fact many witnesses acknowledged.

This is one of the Guru parighara sthalam those who have Guru dosham in their horoscope will be relieved if they have the dharshan of Lord Muruga .