Sri Subramanya Swamy Temple - Tiruchendur

Lord Muruga’s temples used to be in hills and mountains, Tiruchendur Temple is so special that it’s located at a sea shore. It is also one of the six major abodes (Arupadaiveedu) of Muruga. Tiruchendur is one of the largest and most powerful temples in India. Me & my whole family are loyal devotees of Tiruchendur Subramanyar (a.k.a Senthilandavar). 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.

The gushing tides of “Bay of Bengal” wash the foot of the temple. All the pilgrims cool off their foot or take bath in the sea before they enter into the temple. People do visit and take bath in another miracle water “Nazhi Kinaru”. It is a small well, pours crystal clear and sweet to taste water, which is just about 50 feet away from the sea.

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 thru’ which Lord Devendra also offers his prayers to 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/story 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 dove 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 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 :).

Skanda Shati 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 Skanda Shati viradham would come true, personally my family has experienced it. This is truly one of the most powerful temples, would wish to visit at least once every year.

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