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 Ancient Tamil literature calls Him Seyon. Scholars call him variedly as Shadanana, Shadkshara, etc. He is Murugan or Arumugan to the simple devotee. The War God who has been worshipped from time immemorial in Tamil Nadu. As we have seen earlier, six are his celebrated shrines known as
aaru padai veedu in Tamil. According to the classification of
Thiru-murukaatru-padai, one of Paththup Paatu of Sangam period, the first
padai veedu is Thirupparam Kundram, second comes Thiruchendur, third is Palani (Thiruvavinan-kudi) fourth is Swamimalai or Thiruverakam fifth is Kundru-thOr-aadal and the sixth one is Pazhamudhir-cholai. Kundru-thOr-aadal does not refer to a single shrine. Arunagirinathar has sung 33 different shrines under Kundru-thOr-aadal.
'padhi engilum irundhu vilayaadi' he says. You indulge in your (divine) play in all the places and
'pala kundriulum amarndha perumaaLE' and reside in all hills and hillocks.
The ancient book on Tamil grammar, Tholkaapiyam, defines
'seyOn mEya maivarai ulakamum.' Wherever there is a hill, there resides Muruga or 'all that is known as hills are the residences of Him.' He is the same Skanda, Subrahmanya, Balasubrahmanya, Kumara of the North.
Thiruchendur the second padai veedu of this ancient Lord of Tamils defies all these general rules. Having been mentioned in Sangam classics and in Silapadikaram, the temple is clearly more than 2000 years old. Thiruchendur is probably the only ancient temple of Subrahmanya, situated on the seashore, in the Gulf of Mannar. Situated in the Tirunelveli district, Thiruchendur is about 600 km. from the city of Chennai, very well-connected by rail and road.
Fire that burnt Fire
 Primarily, Subrahmanya is a War God. He rules planet Mars, which interestingly is the Roman God of War. He was created by six divine sparks from the third eye of Lord Shiva, which were carried by Agni, who himself could not bear the heat that emanated from the sparks, to the river Ganges, who in turn carried it to
Saravana Poigai, in the Himalayan Range. And, there on six lotus flowers, Kumara was born as six separate babies, each baby tended by the stars of Karthigai constellation and hence He is known as Kartikeya. When Uma Devi saw the babies she grabbed them all and embraced all of them together, to her, thus all the six bodies coalescing into one, with six
faces.
Balasubramanya soon was made the General of the Army of celestials and was entrusted with the job of securing the release of Devas who were imprisoned by Surapadman. Like Ravana, Surapadman was also a half-Brahmin, half-demon. Murugan reached Thiruchendur with his army, and sent his emissary, Veerabahu. Since Surapadman took lightly of the boy - nay, a baby - he refused to do so. Murugan killed Surapadman's next of kin and their army in a war that lasted six days. On the sixth day, the Lord of endless mercy appeared before Surapadman in his viswa-rupa. Though the demon could realise whom he is fighting with, his ego did not permit him to stop his war against Him.
Surapadman assumed the form of a mango tree, which was cloven into two by Subrahmanya with his spear. One half became a cock and other, a peacock. Muruga was until that time fighting the ogre, mounting on Indra, who had assumed the form of a peacock. He very gracefully accepted the demon who had now assumed the form of a peacock, as his own divine carrier and honoured the cock by taking it as His ensign.
This very same story is narrated with a small difference in the North. There, the demon vanquished by Subrahmanya is known as Tarakasura. The place where Tarakasura is killed is Cambay, known in the olden days as Kambhat, situated between the rivers Mahe and Sabarmati.
Thiruchendur is the shrine where Murugan worshipped Shiva. At his behest, the celestial architect Mayan consecrated the temple for Shiva. Thiruchendur is unique not only because it is a rare Murugan temple situated on seashore; but also because the presiding deity holds a rosary of Rudraksha, instead of his spear -
vEl - since He is worshipping Shiva in this shrine.
Temple
 The main Gopuram was renovated in 1930 and is an imposing structure of 130 feet high and consists of nine tiers. It has several legends inscribed on it, including the one that depicts Devas and Asuras churning the Ocean of Milk for Amrita.
Thundukai Vinayagar, the lord who destroys all obstacles, has a sanctum on the approach path to the temple. The well, which is hardly 200 yards away from the sea, is a wonderful phenomenon in Thiruchendur. It occupies an area of 14 sq. ft. and has a flight of 34 steps. There is a smaller well within the main well, measuring about 1 sq. ft. in size and seven feet in depth. The water from this smaller well is crystal clear and is sweet while the water from the main well is brackish. The legend has it that the smaller well was created by Subrahmanya with his 'vEl' to quench the thirst of His divine Army.
Devotees have a dip in the Skanda Pushkarini before entering the sanctum sanctorum of the Thiruchendur Murugan Temple.
The Valli Gugai or Valli cave in the premises nearby houses the sannithi for Valli, Murugan's consort and for Lord Dattathreya. Entering the Murugan temple through the Shanmuga Vilasa mandapam, one gets enchanted by the 124 pillars that stand as testimony to the architecture and craftsmanship that prevailed then.
One gets enthralled by the sculptures of Shanmugar (Shanmuka), Subrahmanyar, Natarajar and Ganapathi, each carved out from a single rock. Sivili mandapam can be reached in the second ring or
"prakaram" with access to the Kanda Madana Parvatham - a rock carving housing the Lord of Seven Hills - Venkatachalapathi. Idols of the 63 nayanmars, Valli, Deivayani and Karaikal Ammaiyar adorn the structure. There is a special depiction of Lord Murugan's battle with Surapadman, which shows Lord Muruga piercing the demon Surapadman with his lance.
Daily pujas to the deities are performed six times a day commencing from 5 a. m. till 9 p. m.
 Festivals
Thai Poosam and Panguni Uthiram are celebrated with grandeur. Falling on the day of Poosam star, during the month of Thai - sometime during the end of January, Thai Pusam, is a Murugan festival celebrated all over the world. Notable is the festival at Patu caves in Kuala Lumpur where over one million Muruga Bakthar visit the shrine for Thai
Pusam.
The battle of Lord Muruga with Surapadman is enacted with fervour to the delight of the devotees in the Tamil month of Masi at Thiruchendur ending with the marriage of Lord Murugan with Deivayani.
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