07th August 2019
Musings.......
A visit to a holy place is a blissful experience and it was with gleeful excitement that last week I and my family embarked on a short train journey to Thiruchendur Temple. My excitement increased on hearing the Temple was located on the Coromandel coast off the Bay of Bengal.
Located in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, we got down at the Thirunelveli Railway station and travelled the 53 kms from the station to the temple by road. As expected the road was well maintained as others in Tamil Nadu. Most striking was the multiple Windmills on the way which we even saw during the train journey. Both sides of the state highway was landscaped by agricultural fields, goats and beautiful hills of the western ghats. Tamil Nadu being in the rain shadow area of the Western Ghats gets less rainfall compared to my home state of Kerala and the difference in greenery is very much visible.
Large swathes of barren fields, and deep borewells and hot air winds were what greeted us. The deeper we ventured away from the hills the more barren and dry the area seemed to become.
Upon arrival we were wonderstruck at the beauty of the coast and the architectural brilliance of the temple.
Tiruchendur Murugan Temple also known as Arulmigu Subramanyaswami Temple is the second Arupadai veedu ( Abodes of Murugan). The six abodes are -
1. Thiruthani
2. Swamimalai
3. Palani
4. Pazhamudircholai
5. Thirupparankunram and
6. Thiruchendur.
The story of Lord Murugan is described in Skanda Purana. According to legend, in olden days the demon Soorapadman tortured the Devas who went to complain to Lord Vishnu and Brahma. They assigned Kamadeva to awake Lord Shiva from his penance, who later gave birth to Kartikeya. Kartikeya killed Soorapadman and saved the devas. Muruga is depicted as the god of love and war. Karthikeya married Valli by love and married Deivayanai by winning the war held at Tiruchendur.
This temple was occupied by the Dutch East India Company from 1646 to 1648, during the course of their war with the Portuguese. The Dutch later vacated the temple on order of the Naik ruler but took with them the idol of the main deity of the temple. While they were sailing away they encountered a strong storm and realised their mistake of stealing the idol. They dropped the idol in the middle of the sea and the storm stopped.
The legend goes on to say that an ardent devotee of Muruga, Vadamaliappa Pillai had a dream and revealed the place in the sea where the idol was abandoned. Later the idol was retrieved and restored with help from the local king. The story is shown as paintings inside the temple.
I have always stood in awe at the Temple architecture of South India. Shilpa Shastra mentions three main types of temple architecture- Nagara or Northern style, the Dravida or southern style and the Vesara or Mixed style.
The temple with its Sthambha, Torana or the hallway, Mandapam, Garbha-Griha or the Scantum Sanctorum, the Vimana, Gopuram and the Shikhara or the Flagmast is a treat to the eyes.
The Thiruchendur temple also boasts of a beautiful beach on the far end of which is located a Mahavishnu temple albeit a smaller one near which is located an underground well called the Naazhi Kinaru, considered sacred and fed by a freshwater spring. Bathing in its water is considered a ritual cleansing.
Northeast to the temple is located the cave temple of Valli. The Scantum Sanctorum is located inside a cave. A narrow path from the Mandapam leads to the Sanctum Sanctorum.
According to legend, Sri Valli was the daughter of King of Mountain tribes. God Muruga fell in love with Sri Valli. God Muruga asks help of Lord Ganesha to get her favour. Lord Ganesha took the form of an elephant and chased Sri Valli into the cave. In the meantime, Lord Murugan appears as an old sage and saves Sri Valli from the elephant. In return Sri Valli offers to fulfill the wishes of the old sage. At last God Muruga appears in his original form and Sri Valli also fell in love with the God and agree for marriage.
As I already mentioned, any visit to a temple is a new experience. The visit to Thiruchendur was special for the surprises that it had in store for us. Be it the natural beauty of the Coromandel coast or the temple aesthetics, this visit will stay long in my mind.
As some learned soul said, “Let the Beauty of Nature remind you of the Goodness of God”.
Food for Thought.......
RC
rohitchennithala.blogspot.com
rohitchennithala.home.blog
A visit to a holy place is a blissful experience and it was with gleeful excitement that last week I and my family embarked on a short train journey to Thiruchendur Temple. My excitement increased on hearing the Temple was located on the Coromandel coast off the Bay of Bengal.
Located in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, we got down at the Thirunelveli Railway station and travelled the 53 kms from the station to the temple by road. As expected the road was well maintained as others in Tamil Nadu. Most striking was the multiple Windmills on the way which we even saw during the train journey. Both sides of the state highway was landscaped by agricultural fields, goats and beautiful hills of the western ghats. Tamil Nadu being in the rain shadow area of the Western Ghats gets less rainfall compared to my home state of Kerala and the difference in greenery is very much visible.
Large swathes of barren fields, and deep borewells and hot air winds were what greeted us. The deeper we ventured away from the hills the more barren and dry the area seemed to become.
Upon arrival we were wonderstruck at the beauty of the coast and the architectural brilliance of the temple.
Tiruchendur Murugan Temple also known as Arulmigu Subramanyaswami Temple is the second Arupadai veedu ( Abodes of Murugan). The six abodes are -
1. Thiruthani
2. Swamimalai
3. Palani
4. Pazhamudircholai
5. Thirupparankunram and
6. Thiruchendur.
The story of Lord Murugan is described in Skanda Purana. According to legend, in olden days the demon Soorapadman tortured the Devas who went to complain to Lord Vishnu and Brahma. They assigned Kamadeva to awake Lord Shiva from his penance, who later gave birth to Kartikeya. Kartikeya killed Soorapadman and saved the devas. Muruga is depicted as the god of love and war. Karthikeya married Valli by love and married Deivayanai by winning the war held at Tiruchendur.
This temple was occupied by the Dutch East India Company from 1646 to 1648, during the course of their war with the Portuguese. The Dutch later vacated the temple on order of the Naik ruler but took with them the idol of the main deity of the temple. While they were sailing away they encountered a strong storm and realised their mistake of stealing the idol. They dropped the idol in the middle of the sea and the storm stopped.
The legend goes on to say that an ardent devotee of Muruga, Vadamaliappa Pillai had a dream and revealed the place in the sea where the idol was abandoned. Later the idol was retrieved and restored with help from the local king. The story is shown as paintings inside the temple.
I have always stood in awe at the Temple architecture of South India. Shilpa Shastra mentions three main types of temple architecture- Nagara or Northern style, the Dravida or southern style and the Vesara or Mixed style.
The temple with its Sthambha, Torana or the hallway, Mandapam, Garbha-Griha or the Scantum Sanctorum, the Vimana, Gopuram and the Shikhara or the Flagmast is a treat to the eyes.
The Thiruchendur temple also boasts of a beautiful beach on the far end of which is located a Mahavishnu temple albeit a smaller one near which is located an underground well called the Naazhi Kinaru, considered sacred and fed by a freshwater spring. Bathing in its water is considered a ritual cleansing.
Northeast to the temple is located the cave temple of Valli. The Scantum Sanctorum is located inside a cave. A narrow path from the Mandapam leads to the Sanctum Sanctorum.
According to legend, Sri Valli was the daughter of King of Mountain tribes. God Muruga fell in love with Sri Valli. God Muruga asks help of Lord Ganesha to get her favour. Lord Ganesha took the form of an elephant and chased Sri Valli into the cave. In the meantime, Lord Murugan appears as an old sage and saves Sri Valli from the elephant. In return Sri Valli offers to fulfill the wishes of the old sage. At last God Muruga appears in his original form and Sri Valli also fell in love with the God and agree for marriage.
As I already mentioned, any visit to a temple is a new experience. The visit to Thiruchendur was special for the surprises that it had in store for us. Be it the natural beauty of the Coromandel coast or the temple aesthetics, this visit will stay long in my mind.
As some learned soul said, “Let the Beauty of Nature remind you of the Goodness of God”.
Food for Thought.......
RC
rohitchennithala.blogspot.com
rohitchennithala.home.blog
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