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Tiruchendur-Arupadai Veedu
The Tiruchendur Kovil (Temple) represents the 2nd House of residence among the 6 important residences of Lord Murugan. It thus represents the 2nd Arupadai Veedu.
Many believe the Tiruchendur Kovil to be 3000 years old.
Many mysteries surround this great temple of Lord Murugan in the South of India.
Tiruchendur Temple: Appearance of Lord Murugan
Lord Shiva did not bear any children from his first consort Devi Sati.
Devi Sati offered her body to the flames after the insult of Lord Shiva by Her father Daksha.
Lord Shiva remained issueless. The demons could not secure the boon of becoming immortal from Sri Brahma.
On the other hand, they secured the boon that they shall only be slain at the hands of the son of Lord Shiva.
This could never happen if Lord Shiva did not bear children. When the Devatas complained to Lord Shiva about the harassment they underwent at the hands of the demons, Lord Shiva opened His third eye. From the 6 sparks of Lord Shiva’s third eye, appeared Lord Murugan.
Lord Murugan’s character was extremely fiery.
Lord Murugan had 6 heads and therefore people addressed him as “Arumugam” (The 6 headed Lord).
Tiruchendur Temple: Brihaspati undertakes Penance
Sooran Padma, a fierce demon, decided not only to put an end to the Devatas but was also firm in destroying the preceptor of the Devatas namely Sri Brihaspati.
Sri Brihaspati underwent severe penance in Tiruchendur. Lord Murugan appeared in front of the Guru of the Devatas.
He assured the Guru that He himself shall destroy Sooran Padma and relieve the Devatas of the atrocities of this demon by the name Sooran Padma.
Sri Brihaspati revealed many of the secrets of the demons to Lord Murugan and the means to end the lives of the hurtful demons.
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Tiruchendur Temple: Tiruchendur becomes the battle place
Tiruchendur became the place of battle between the Devatas led by Sri Murugan.
Lord Murugan stayed at this very place along with many million warriors.
Thus this place represents the Padai Veedu (Place of residence of warriors).
Meanwhile, Devi Parvati became the consort of Lord Shiva.She knew that Sooran could not be defeated so easily by the Devatas since Sooran had the armor of Lord Shiva’s blessings.
Tiruchendur Temple: Devi gives Shakti Vel to Sri Murugan
Therefore she presented the “Shakti Vel” to Sri Murugan.
Shakti Vel means “the Lance of Devi”. Lord Murugan now was assured of victory and hence he carried the name “Veera Vel” or “Vetri Vel” which means the one who represents the Brave lance or Success lance.
The war between the army of Sri Murugan and the army of Sooran Padma lasted for 6 long days. Unable to bear the attacks of the great Lord Karthikeya, Sooran Padma took the form of a mango tree to distract Sri Murugan.
Tiruchendur Temple: Sooram Padma Vadham
Sri Murugan took His “Shakti Vel” and severed the mango tree into two.
Sooran’s body divided itself into two different forms. One became a cock and the other became the peacock.
Cock became the symbol on the flag of Sri Karthikeya and the peacock became Lord Murugan’s personal vehicle. In the month of Aippasi (September-October), Lord Murugan slew Sooran with his diamond lance.
The Guru of the Devatas Sri Brihaspati requested Sri Murugan to reside in Tiruchendur permanently and grace the many million devotees who visited the place.
Tiruchendur Temple: No Mango trees near the temple
Lord Murugan also conducted a grand Abhishekam of His eternal father Lord Shiva at the spot of the current temple of Tiruchendur. The place also bore the name Jayanthipuram. Lord Murugan also got the name, Senthil Nathan.
Since Sooran took the form of a mango tree, even today one can never find any mango tree in the vicinity of the temple.
Although the climate is suitable for the growth of mango trees, scientifically, even if one plants mango trees, the plant dries off.
Tiruchendur Temple: Sweating Deity at Chikkal
Adjacent to the town of Nagapattinam there exists a village called Chikkal.
At this very place, Lord Murugan received the Diamond Lance from his Mother, Shakti.One other mystery surrounds the event of Sooran Vadham.
During the time when Lord Murugan goes to meet his mother at Chikkal, the Archa Vigraha (deity of Murugan) at a temple in Chikkal sweats profusely.
The priests try to wipe the deity but the cloth used to wipe the deity becomes totally soaked with the Lord’s sweat.
Tiruchendur Temple: Protection Under Tsunami
The 2004 Tsunami wrecked the entire coastline of Tamil Nadu leaving many millions homeless. Yet the Tiruchendur temple which is on one of the coastlines of Tamil Nadu remained safe and protected the residents of the nearby area of the temple.
Out of the six abodes of Lord Murugan, five of the abodes are on hilly terrain. Only Tiruchendur exists near the coastline.
Tiruchendur Temple: The “Nazhikenur” well at Tiruchendur
After the war and Sooran’s defeat, Sri Murugan’s army men were extremely thirsty. The army found only seawater on all sides.
There was no sign of freshwater. Sri Murugan took pity on his men.
He took out his Lance and pierced a certain spot of Land near the currently located temple. A well manifested on the spot.
This well goes by the name “Nazhikenur”.
The well is 24 feet deep and 1 foot in diameter. The level of the well is much below the level of the sea. Yet the water of this well remains sweet throughout the year. There exists no source of sweet water other than this one in a range of 10 square kilometers. The Nazhikenur remains full of water 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Tiruchendur Temple: Waters at Tiruchendur like Ganga Water
There exist 24 sources of water that represent the 24 syllables of Gayatri Mantra.
Most of the sources of this pure water exist within the womb of the ocean at Tiruchendur. One who takes bath in the ocean waters at Tiruchendur receives benefits similar to taking bath in the river Ganga.
Tiruchendur Temple: Deity worship at Tiruchendur
The main deity of the Tiruchendur temple is Subrahmanya Swami.
Then there are deities of Shanmuga Nathar, Jayanthi Nathar, Kumara Virangar, and Alavai Perumal at the temple. The priests offer rituals to the main deity of Subrahmanya Swami following the rules of Kumara Tantra.
Priests offer rituals to the Shanmuga Nathar following the Shiva Agamas.
Tiruchendur Temple: The Dutch try to steal the Subrahmanya deity
In 1968 there was a great war between the ruler of Tiruchendur namely Tirumalai Naicker and the Dutch. The Dutch won the war.
They then tried to steal the main deities of Subrahmanya Swami and the Nataraja deity, thinking that they were gold idols. The Dutchmen tried to melt the idols in the ship.
Suddenly there arose a sea cyclone. The Dutch concluded that because they stole and tried to melt the deities, a cyclone hit the ship. They immediately dropped the two idols into the ocean and fled.
Within a few minutes, the cyclone subsided. They continued to their country without looking back.
Tiruchendur Temple: Vada Malai Appar retrieves Subrahmanya
The Murugan and Nataraja deities remained at the bed of the ocean for many years. On a certain day at a place known as Vada Malai, a Murugan devotee saw his Lord in the dream.
The Lord revealed, “I have been lying in the ocean bed for many years.
I will reveal to you, where I lie. You should go to the ocean.”
At a certain spot, you shall see a lemon floating and an eagle shall be circumambulating at the skyline above the floating lemon. The devotee by the name of Vada Malai Appar took the help of other devotees of the temple and went to the ocean.
At some distance, they could locate the lemon and the eagle as the Lord described. They found the deities. Due to the saltwater, the idol of Lord Shanmuga was damaged to some extent. Even today, one can find that the Subrahmanya Deity corroded at some places, due to being submerged in the ocean for a long time.
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