Swamimalai Swaminathaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple located in Swamimalai dedicated Murugan 5 km from Kumbakonam on the banks of a tributary of river Cauvery, 212 km from Madurai and 250 km from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is one of the six holy shrines of Murugan called Arupadaiveedu. The shrine of the presiding deity, Swaminathaswamy is located atop a 60 ft (18 m) hillock and the shrine of his mother Meenakshi (Parvathi) and father Shiva (Sundareswarar) is located downhill. The temple has three gopuram (gateway towers), three precincts and sixty steps and each one is named after the sixty Tamil years. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and three yearly festivals on its calendar. The annual Vaikasi Visagam festival is attended by thousands of devotees from far and near.
As per Hindu legend, Muruga, the son of Shiva, extolled the meaning of the Pranava Mantra (AUM) to his father at this place and hence attained the name Swaminathaswamy. The temple is believed to be in existence from the Sangam period from 2nd century BC and was believed to have been modified by Parantaka Chola I. The temple was greatly damaged during the Anglo-French war between Hyder Ali and British in 1740. The temple, in modern times, is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Swamimalai is one of the Arupadaiveedu, believed to be the six main abodes of Muruga, that mark the different phases of his life. According to Hindu belief, Swamimalai is where Muruga preached what as called as "Pranava mantra" to his own father, Shiva, at a young age, after arresting Brahma for not answering his question about Pranava Mantram. The teaching capabilities of Murugan is found as one of his identifying features. The cult of Murugan is of pride to the Tamil people who identify six with Murugan connating six directions and six chakras in human anatomy.
Palani Arulmigu Shri Dhandayuthapani temple is one of the Six Abodes of Murugan. It is located in the town of Palani in Dindigul, 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of Madurai(2.5hrs from Madurai) and southeast of Coimbatore in the foot-hills of the Palani hills, Tamil Nadu, India. Palani temple is considered synonymous with Panchamirtam, a sweet mixture made of five ingredients.
As per Hindu legend, Sage Narada visited the celestial court of Shiva at Mount Kailash to present to him a fruit, the gyana-palam (literally, the fruit of knowledge). He decided to award it to whichever of his two sons first circled the world thrice. Accepting the challenge, Karthikeya started his journey around the globe on his mount peacock. However, Ganesha, who surmised that the world was no more than his parents Shiva and Shakti combined, circumambulated them and won the fruit. Karthikeya was furious and felt the need to get matured from boyhood and hence chose to remain as a hermit to Palani. The idol of the Muruga in Palani was created and consecrated by sage Bogar, one of Hinduism's eighteen great siddhas, out of an amalgam of nine poisons or navapashanam.
The most common form of worship at the temple is the abhishekam - anointment of the idol with oils, sandalwood paste, milk, unguents and the like and then bathing it with water in an act of ritual purification. The most prominent abhishekams are conducted at the ceremonies to mark the hours of the day. These are four in number - the Vizha Poojai, early in the morning, the Ucchikalam, in the afternoon, the Sayarakshai, in the evening and the Rakkālam, at night, immediately prior to the temple being closed for the day. These hours are marked by the tolling of the heavy bell on the hill, to rouse the attention of all devotees to the worship of the lord being carried out at that hour. On a quiet day, the bell can be heard in all the countryside around Palani. In addition to worship within the precincts of the temple, an idol of the Lord, called the Uthsavamoorthy, is also carried in state around the temple, in a golden chariot, drawn by devotees, most evenings in a year.
As of 2016, the temple was the richest among temples in the state with a collection of 33 crore during the period of July 2015 to June 2016.
This temple is located in the eastern end of the town Thiruchendur in the district of Tuticorin, 3.5hrs from Madurai. The temple complex is on the shores of Bay of Bengal.
Thiruchendur Murugan Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Murugan situated in Tamil Nadu, India. The puranic name or historical name for this temple is Jayanthipuram. It is also one of the Arupadaiveedu , the six major abodes of Murugan. It is the only one among the six sacred temple complexes to be situated near the sea shore.
This is one of the largest temple complexes of India and it is one of the most visited temple complex in India. This temple is the fourth Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu to get ISO certification.
Early Cankam poetry refer to the Murugan seashore shrine at Tirrucciralaivay, which is thought to refer to the Thiruchendur Temple. The earliest existing inscription at the temple is sated 875 AD, and talks about a Pantiyan called Varekuna Maran. The Murugan temple at Thiruchendur was occupied by the Dutch East India company between the years 1646 to 1648, during the course of their war with the Portuguese. The local people tried during these 2 years to try and free their temple, with several futile attempts. The Dutch finally vacated the temple on orders from the Naik ruler. The Dutch removed some idols when they vacated the temple, which were returned after many negotiations with the Madurai Naikaar in 1651. In 1868, 3 priests led a movement to rebuild the temple, and collected funds for the same. The rebuilt temple was consecrated in 1941. A further gopurram was added and consecrated in 1971.
The temple has a eleven tiered rajagopuram, the gateway tower facing the East. The tower by built by Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam under the aegis of the pontiff Desikamoorthy Swami around 1650.There are three precincts in the temple, with the third precinct on the shore of the Bay of Bengal. The entrance of the temple faces the South and has pillared halls leading to the sanctum. The first hall from the entrance is called the Shanmugha Vilasa Mandapam. There are separate shrines of Valli and Devyani, the consort of Muruga in the second precinct. There are shrines of Viswanatha and Visalakshi on the western side, while a cave on the northern side has the shrine of Valli. The image of the presiding deity, Subramanian Swamy is housed in the sanctum, sported with four hands. The image of the festival deity is sported with six faces and twelve hands. There are eight lingams in the temple, which is believed to have been worshipped by Muruga before waging the war with Surapadma. He is believed to have created a well named Skanda Pushkarni with his spear after the war. The water in the well is believed to possess medicinal properties.
