Tiruchendur Murugan koil
Lord Muruga, the younger son of Lord
Shiva and his Consort Parvathi, has six special abodes, known as the
"aru padai veedu", and they are Tiruchendur,
Tiruparangundram, Swamimalai, Pazhani, Pazhamudir cholai and
Tiruttani.
The first temple of this six part
series on Lord Muruga's abodes is Tiruchendur. Here, the Lord is
known as "Senthil andavar". It is one of the most visited shrines in
Tamil Nadu, and, unlike the other abodes which are atop hills, this
one is located on the seashore in the southern part of the state.
According to the legend, Lord Muruga vanquished the demon Soorapadman and his army, in his fortress Veeramahendram situated in the middle of the ocean
near here.
Originally, the shrine was a rock cut
structure cut out of a hill and later, it was renovated with
granite. The gopuram is an imposing 137 feet in height and is
visible for miles.
The Shanmukha Vilaasa Mandapam,with
carved pillars, stands in front of the temple. The temple has two prakarams
- the sanctum to Subramanyar (moolavar) is located inside the innermost mandapam.
The cave-like panchalingam shrine is situated right next to the
shrine. It is believed that it was here that Subramanya worshipped
Lord Shiva.
Next to the Subramanyar's sannadhi is
the sannadi of Senthil aandavar - this houses the uthsava moorthi of
Lord Subramanya along with his Consorts, Valli and Deivanai. The
inner most prakaram facing south is that of Aarumugaswamy.
This prakaram also contains the images of
63 nayanmars, and shrines to Natarajar, Karaikkal Ammaiyaar and others.
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In the inner prakaram are shrines to Valli and
Deivanai while the outermost prakaram is lined with pillared corridors, and it
contains the shrines dedicated to Dakshinamurthi, Mukkunni Vinayakar and
Arunagirinathar.
Lord Venkatachalapathi has an exclusive
shrine for Himself on the outer prakaram, which also contains small
shrines dedicated to Gajalakshmi and Lord Ranganathar with his consort.
The water of this temple is known as Skanda Pushkarini or the Naazhi Kinaru.
This is a step well and legend has it that it sprung up when Skanda's spear pierced the ground.
This well has two divisions - outer well and a smaller inner well. The water in the outer well is
black in colour while the inner one is fresh and clear.
The protocol for daily worship here is
known Kumara Tantram. Eight times a day, poojas are done to Lord Subramanyar.
On Vishakam nakshatiram day as well as during Chittirai Vishu and
Aippasi Vishu, special poojas are done to the Lord.
Every day, processions are carried out in
the inner sanctum and on the last friday of every month, the uthsava
moorthy is taken on a procession in the outer prakaram, along with his
consorts. Special processions are conducted on days like Kartikai, Vishakam asterisms and
Sashti.
Festivals
Twice a year, once in Maasi and once in
Aavani, the temple brahmmothsavams are held and they go on for 12 days. On the seventh and eighth days of
the festivals, Lord Shanmukha is housed in the Shanmukha Vilaasa mandapam before and after the processions. The
ratha festival is conducted on the 10th day and the theppam
(float) festival on the following day.
In the month of Vaikasi, the Vishaakam festival is celebrated for 12 days.
In the month of Aippasi, Kandha Sashti
festival is celebrated with great pomp and the Soora Samharam, when
Muruga married Deivanai, is enacted on the seashore. Devasena is
enacted. |
