Welcome To Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Thiruchendur
Thiruchendur Murugan temple is known as the second Arupadai Veedu of Lord Muruga. 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.
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Normally, the Raja Gopuram will be in the eastern side of temples in Tamil Nadu. But in Thiruchendur 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.
Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple - History
An asura by name Surapadma was ruling Veera Mahendrapuri, an island fortress. He performed many austerities invoking Lord Shiva and the Lord granted him many boons. Later, the asura became arrogant and captured all the three worlds—the heaven, earth and the hell. He made the Devas, the heavenly immortals to do menial task. The Devas were unable to bear his torture and complained to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva opened his third eye to create a son to kill Surapadma. Six sparks of fire emanated from the third eye. These divine sparks were received by River Ganges through Agni, the God of Fire and passed on to the Himalayan lake, Saravana Poigai. Here they were transformed into six babies. Saravanapoigai .Here they were transformed into six babies.
These babies were suckled by the six Kirithika nymphs. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi Devi came to Saravana Poigai, and when Goddess Uma fondly clasped the babies they joined together to become Lord Arumuga with six faces and twelve arms. When child Arumuga grew up to become a young boy, Lord Shiva asked him to destroy Surapadma and free the Devas from their cruel bondage. Lord Muruga reached Tiruchendur with his huge army and camped. He sent his lieutenant, Veerabahu to the asuras as an emissary and asked Surapadma to release the Devas. Since Surapadma turned down the request, a war ensued.
An intense battle was fought for a few days. During the first five days of the war, the brothers of Surapadma and all other asuras perished. On the sixth day, in the battle between Lord Muruga and Surapadma, the lance of Lord Muruga pierced the body of Surapadma, who got himself transformed into a frightful mango tree, and broke it into two. The broken pieces instantly transformed themselves into a mighty peacock and a cock. Lord Muruga took the peacock as his vahana or vehicle and the cock on his banner. This event is popularly known as Surasamharam, or the destruction of Surapadman. After Surasamharam, Lord Muruga desired to worship his father, Lord Shiva. Hence Mayan, the divine architect constructed this shrine at Tiruchendur. Even now Lord Subramaniyan is seen in the posture of worshiping Lord Shiva in the sanctum sanctorum.
Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple - Historical Event
A familiar local tradition runs to the effect that about 1648 AD, a race of seafaring men, identified later as Dutch, descended upon Tiruchendur and carried away the idol Shanmukhar and Śiva Natarajar, thinking that they were made of gold. Their attempt at melting it proving futile, they tried to carry them away by sea. But the sea suddenly grew boisterous, and rocked the ship violently, so the sailors threw the idols into the sea.
The loss of the idols was discovered and duly communicated to Vadamalaiyappa Pillaiyyan, the local administrator of the Nayakkan ruler at Tirunelveli. A great devotee that he was, Pillaiyyan was sorely affected and knew not what to do. He ordered for a similar idol to be made in panchaloka. As the duplicate one was ready, and was on its way to Tiruchendur to be installed, in 1653 Vadamalaiappa Pillaiyyan had a dream.
Acting to the advice conveyed to him by the God, he put out to sea and following the instructions that the idol was to be found at the spot whereon a lime fruit would be found floating, and the place marked by the circling overhead of a kite, the bird of Vishnu.
Vadamalaiappa Pillaiyyan recovered the original idol and reinstalled it in the temple in the year 1653. The replacement idol was then consecrated in the shrine of Tiruppirantîsvarar alias Venku Patcha Kovil situated east of Palamcottah (known as Murugan Kurichi).
Vadamalaiappa was greatly struck by the Lord's grace in giving him this great relief, in memory of which he erected a mantapa at Tiruchendur in his name and endowed it largely for the performance of a Kattalai abhishekam and pujas for Subrahmaniam on the seventh days of Masi and Avani festivals. An inscription at the mantapa relates the incidents referred to.
Among many others, kirtanas composed by Venri Malaik Kavirayar, are sung at this mantapa at the time when Shanmukhar is brought here for Ubaya Mandagappadi on the seventh day of the Masi and Avani festivals. The poem relates the incidents and their rejoicings at the Lord being got back again. "Vadamalai Venba" is another poetic panegyric on Vadamalaiappa Pillaiyyan.
M. Rennel, the French author of A Description, Historical and Geographical, of India (published in Berlin, 1785), gives a picture of the temple, which, he says, he got from a soldier in the service of the Dutch Company. He relates an incident which offers a reasonable explanation of the Tiruchendur tradition. "In a descent made by the Dutch off the Coast in 1648," he says, "the Dutch halted in the temple and on leaving did their best to destroy it by fire and by a heavy bombardment. But they only partially succeeded and the tower defied all their efforts." Possibly the capture of the idol was one of their achievements.
As a matter of fact M. Rennel calls the place Tutucutin, but from the picture and an accompanying sketch-map it is clear that Tiruchendur was meant. The Dutch were incessantly at war with the Portuguese on the coast.
Nali Kinaru
Panchalingam
Saravanapoigai
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BELOW LINKS:
http://umaprakashapurva.blogspot.in/2017/02/tirunelveli-in-and-around-trip.html
http://umaprakashapurva.blogspot.in/2015/04/kuladievam-1mangalambikai-samedha.html
http://umaprakashapurva.blogspot.com/2017/01/nava-tirupathi-in-tirunelveli.html
http://umaprakashapurva.blogspot.in/2017/02/chitra-pournami-at-thiruvannamalai.html
http://umaprakashapurva.blogspot.in/2017/03/tirumala-and-tirupathi.html
http://umaprakashapurva.blogspot.in/2017/03/tirumala-and-tirupathi.html
