 Swamimalai, situated in the main line from Chennai to Tiruchirappalli, is the fourth in the six abodes - aru padai veedu - of Lord Murugan. It can be reached by rail and is situated in the main line from Chennai to Trichy. Alternatively, one can also alight in Kumbakonam and travel by road from there to Swamimalai, which is situated about 7
kms to the west of
Kumbakonam.
This famous shrine built on a hillock - it is known as seikundru in Tamil, meaning ‘manmade hillock’ - is known by different names such as Thiruverakam, Gurumalai, DaathrIgiri, Sundarachalam etc. The sthala vrksha - tree of the shrine - is Nelli (gooseberry) and hence the name
DaathrIgiri.
“The Child is Father of the Man”
 The legend has it that as a matter of custom the celestials who came for worshipping Lord Shiva used to bow before the divine Child, Subrahmanya. Lord Brahma, who visited Kailash, took the child lightly and walked past Him without paying his respects. Kumara called Brahma to him and asked for an explanation. In His playful mood, He decided to expose the hollowness of Brahma and asked Him to give out the meaning of the pranava mantra Aum. Brahma could not. Subrahmanya imprisoned Brahma and He took up the function of Creation from Him and started performing it Himself in the absence of Brahma.
 Lord Shiva came to know of this and He called Kumara to him. He asked the Child with a smile, ‘Ah! My Child! You imprisoned Brahma for not knowing what is meant by the pranava mantra. Do you know it? Now, do tell me what is meant by the mantra, if at all you know its meaning.’ The divine Child Balasubrahmanya smiled mischievously. ‘I do know it. But I cannot tell you if you want to know it from me so very casually. You have to bow down before me, accept me as your master and listen to me as a disciple. If you are prepared to do so, I will teach you what it means!’
The Father was so pleased with this Child and He accepted that if something has to be learnt, it is essential that the Guru, who teaches the subject, has to be respected first, irrespective of his or her age. Lord Muruga then was seated in a high pedestal and Lord Shiva, the Father, knelt before him with his hand covering his mouth reverentially and the Child ‘taught’ him what was meant by Aum, the pranava mantra.
Swamimalai is the place in which the Divine Son and Father played the roles of Teacher and the Taught and hence the name Swamimalai. ‘Swum’ in Sanskrit means ‘One who owns.’ Swami is the Master of all. In Swamimalai, Murugan is known as Swaminathan - Lord of the Master.
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 The
History
Swamimalai is one of the very ancient temples of Tamil Nadu. One can see
that it is mentioned in Thirumurukaatrup-padai of Nakeerar, compiled
under ‘paththuppaattu’ (Ten verses) of Sangam period, which belongs
to second century B.C. The shrine therefore is evidently older than
2400 years. It is believed to have been constructed by Parantaka Chola
I. But recent history and documentation show that the temple was damaged
to a great extent and the gopurams were demolished during the Anglo-French war of 1740 A.D.
The Temple
The temple of Swaminatha is built on the hillock. At the foot of the hillock,
there is a temple for Lord Shiva, who played the ‘Taught’. His temple is situated at a lower plane to indicate the superiority of the ‘Master.’ Lord Shiva is known as Sundaresa and His Consort,
Meenakshi.
There are three beautiful gopurams on all three sides - east, west and north. On the south is situated the massive and main gopuram, known as the Rajagopuram. There are three prakarams in the temple. There is a shrine for Vinayaka, who is known by the name Netra Vinayaka. It is said that a blind man had his vision restored, after he worshipped Vinayaka here and from then on, Ganesa is known as Netra Vinayaka in
Swamimalai.
 There are other shrines in the prakaram for Agastya, Visalakshi, Lakshmi, Saraswathi and other deities. There is a shrine for Lord Muruga in a corner, where He resides with His consort, Devayani. This is the only shrine where Subrahmanya is seen with Devayani alone, without the other Consort, Valli. Moreover, the usual divine vehicle, peacock is absent in this shrine. Instead, there is a white elephant is found in front of the Lord. It is said that Indra, in gratitude for having saved him from Asuras, presented the Lord with his own vehicle, Airavatam, the white elephant and hence the peacock is absent in Swamimalai.
Krittika is an important day for a visit to the shrine. The main festivals are Brahma Utsavam, Skanda Shasti and the festival of His marriage with Valli. Vibuthi Abhishekam - smearing of the deity with holy ashes - is a special feature in Swamimalai, as it is in
Palani.
The temple is very important from the literary, historic and also devotional points of view.
Hari Krishnan
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