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Importance of 6 Murugan Temples
People know Lord Murugan by many different names. He has names such as Karthikeya, Kandavel, Skanda, and Vadivel, and so on. The story of Lord Murugan forms the basis of the Skanda Purana.
The Rishis consider Skanda Purana as a Rajasik Shastra since it lays emphasis on action, as an important aspect of life.
No man can live on this planet without work. Out of the six main deities outlined by Sri Adi Shankara as sources of Liberation, Lord Murugan is the 6th deity.
The other deities are Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya, and Ganapathy or Ganesha. Devotees address the six abodes of Lord Murugan as the Arupadai Veedu or 6 personal homes of Lord Murugan.
Mountainous terrain holds the 6 Abodes of Lord Murugan. People consider Murugan as the Lord of the mountains.
Lord Murugan represents valor and the Lord of “Action”. Visiting the six Abodes at least once in one’s lifetime can grant all the wishes of the devotee and will release a person from the bondage of “Action’.
Thus, when one visits these temples with devotion, they shall be released from compulsions of Karma.
Murugan Temples: Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple at Thiruparankundram
The temple at Thiruparankundram represents the first and top temple among the 6 abodes of Lord Murugan. People there, believe that the Pandyas built this temple in the 6th century.
The temple has rock-cut style architecture. According to various sources, this temple stands at the very spot where Murugan slew the Demon Surapadam.
Tarakasura had 2 other brothers. Surapadam was one among them.
After slaying the demon, Lord Karthikeya married Devasena the daughter of Lord Indra at Thiruparankundram.
Legends mention that lord Karthikeya worshiped Lord Shiva in the form of Parangirinathar.People keep six-day rituals and celebrate 3 yearly festivals at this temple. The population there celebrates the Kanda Shashti festival during the Tamil month of Aippasi (October to November), as it is the most prominent.
This temple is in Tamil Nadu, Madurai district.
Murugan Temples: Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Tiruchendur
The temple at Tiruchendur represents the second temple amongst the 6 abodes of Murugan. This Murugan temple is the most sacred and important temple in Kaumaram belief systems, one of the six major belief systems of Sanatana Dharma.
This temple Tiruchendur falls in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu. The historic name of this temple is Jayanthipuram.
It has become the fourth Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu to get an ISO certificate. People here enact the historical event of Soorsamharam when Lord Murugan slew the demon Surapadam.
The devotees in the temple sing the Kanda Shashti to please Lord Karthikeya. Kanda Shashti is a beautiful devotional song in praise of Lord Murugan.
There are many specialties found in this Murugan temple.
Murugan Temples: Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple
This Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple in the city of Palani stands third among the 6 abodes of Lord Karthikeya.
Rishi Agastya wrote the Sangam literature, which mentions, this temple as Thiruaavinankudi. There is a famous story behind this beautiful temple of Lord Murugan. People consider this beautiful temple to be like a sweet mixture made of 5 ingredients (Panchamritam).
Panchamritam consists of milk, yogurt, ghee, honey, and Tulsi. The nature of Lord Murugan, people consider similar to this sweet mixture. Lord Murugan is the giver of strength as in milk.
Yogurt helps digestion, similarly, a devotee of Murugan can withstand all difficulties, assisted by Lord Karthikeya.
Ghee or clarified butter gives smoothness to the functioning of the body. Similarly, Lord Murugan makes life smooth and livable. Tulsi or Basil leaf represents purity.
Similarly, Lord Murugan instills the mellow of pure devotion in the heart of His devotee.
The Way to Impress Lord Murugan
Once, Rishi Bogar praised the divine deity. Rishi Bogar is one of the great 18 siddhars in Sanatana Dharma. A sidhhar is a special type of mystic who has many miraculous powers under his control like Anima, Laghima, etc.
There are many stories and facts about this temple and its idol.
Here the most common worship is the Abhishekam. They use different types of pure ingredients and bathe the Lord. Lord Murugan is very careful about his offerings. To impress the Lord one should offer sweet and milky things.
This particularly impresses the Lord.
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Murugan Temples: Arulmigu Swaminatha Swamy Temple
This temple at Swami Malai represents the fourth abode of Lord Murugan among the 6 temples of the Lord. The temple grounds itself on the banks of a tributary of river Kaveri in Thanjavur district.
It is 5 km from Kumbakonam.
3 gateway towers, 3 precincts, and 60 steps qualify as the main highlights of the temple. This temple exists from the time when Lord Murugan gave Upadesham to His eternal Father, Lord Shiva.
He taught the meaning of “AUM” to Lord Shiva, at this very place.
Hence Lord Murugan got the name Swaminatha or the “Guru of the Supreme Being (Shiva)”.There is a huge past behind this temple. In this temple, people follow a six-day ritual at different times 5:30 to 9:00 pm. They also celebrate 3 yearly festivals according to the Tamil calendar.
We can even consider this temple to be the main among the 6 abodes of Lord Murugan.
The reason being, here the Lord preached the meaning of AUM or the primal sound of the whole Universe to the Supreme Being.
Shastra describes the AUM mantra as the Pranava mantra.
The maintenance of this temple and its administration is under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Every Thursday, the devotees in the temple offer a Diamond Vel (Lance) or the primal weapon of Murugan to him.
Murugan Temples: Arulmigu Subrahmanya Swami Temple, Thiruttani
The temple is situated on a hill at Thiruttani, Thiruvalluvar district of Tamil Nadu.
The temple has 365 steps. There is a 10-day festival wedding between Lord Murugan and Devasena held at the location in the period of February and March.
Lakhs of people attend the festival every year. People carry the Kavadi on this occasion.
The shrine of the procession deity houses a mandap made out of Rudraksha beads. The Temple represents the fifth Army camp of the great Army general, Lord Murugan, also called Padai Veedu.
After destroying the demon Sooran at Tiruchendur, Lord Murugan proceeded to this place. People worship Lord Murugan’s most peaceful form at this very place.
People also know this place as the Shanti Swarupa Sthalam. At this place, Lord Indra gifted his white elephant Airavata to his daughter Devasena as Her wedding gift.
Murugan Temples: Arulmigu Solaimalai Murugan Temple, Pazhamudircholai
Situated at the top hills and covered with dense forests, this Solaimalai Murugan Temple at Pazhamudircholai. The location of this temple is fertile, green, and lush.
People say that nature blesses this land with abundance. We can find vegetable fields, fruit orchards, and beautiful flowers at the temple location.
People consider these forests to be the home of Devi Valli, before her marriage with the Lord. The temple is close to the Azhagar Kovil of Lord Vishnu.
There is a separate shrine for Lord Ganesha in the temple. In the temple, tower monkeys play and dance. We can even consider this temple to be the most abundant and green among all the 6 temples of Lord Murugan.
Lord Karthikeya tested the great Tamil poetess and sage, Avvaiyar, at the current precincts of this great temple. This temple also represents the 6th and final temple in order.