Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Tiruchendur

Subramanya Swamy Temple
Entrance to the temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Thoothukudi
Deity	Murugan
Festivals	Vaikasi Visakam Surasamharam Thaipusam
Governing body	Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, Government of Tamil Nadu
Location
Location	Tiruchendur, Thoothukudi district
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Location in Tamil Nadu
Coordinates	8°29′45″N78°7′45″E / 8.49583°N 78.12917°E / 8.49583; 78.12917
Architecture
Type	Tamil architecture
Website
tiruchendurmurugan.hrce.tn.gov.in

Subramanya Swamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Hindu god Murugan, located in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu. It is one of the Six Abodes of Murugan (Arupadai Veedu), a set of foremost and sacred Hindu temples, dedicated to Murugan. It is also one of the Vaippu Sthalams.

The temple complex is located in the eastern end of the town on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. It is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. ^[1] In 2016, it was the fourth Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu to get an ISO certification. ^[2] A reenactment of Surasamharam, the victory of Murugan over the asura Surapadman, is a major festival, and attracts thousands to the temple.

Mythology

A painting depicting Murugan facing off Surapadma

The history of Thiruchendur is related to the mythology of Hindu god Murugan. According to the seventeenth-century CE text Kanda Puranam (the Tamil rendition of the older Skanda Purana), the asura brothers Surapadman, Simhamukhan and Tarakasuran performed tapas to Shiva, who granted them with various weapons and a wish wherein they could only be killed by the son of Shiva, which offered them near-immortality. They subsequently oppressed other celestial beings including the devas, and started a reign of tyranny in the three worlds. ^{[3] [4]} When the devas pleaded to Shiva for his assistance, Murugan was born, to take on the asuras. ^{[3] [4]} Shiva granted him celestial weapons and the divine spear vel, an embodiment of the power of Shakti (Parvati). ^[4]

Texts Kanda Puranam and Kumarasambhavam recount a war fought by Murugan against the asuras. As Murugan was born to save the devas from the tyranny of the asuras, he was appointed as the commander of the devas and engaged in conflict with the asuras. ^{[5] [6]} Murugan killed Tarakasura and Simhamukha and faced off with Surapadma in the final battle in Tiruchendur. Surapadma took a large form with multiple heads, arms and legs trying to intimidate Murugan. When Murugan threw his vel, Surapadma escaped to the sea and took the form of a large mango tree, which spread across the three worlds. Murugan used his vel to split the tree in half, with each half transforming into a peacock and a rooster, respectively. After Surapadma was killed, Murugan took the peacock as his vahana and the rooster as his pennant. ^[4]

A reenactment of Surasamharam, the victory of Murugan over the asura Surapadman, is a major festival, and attracts thousands to the temple. ^[7]

History

A painting illustrating the war between in 1649.

Further information: Dutch Occupation of the Thiruchendur Temple

The temple complex at Tiruchendur was occupied by the Dutch East India Company from 1646 to 1648 CE, during the course of their war with the Portuguese. The local people tried to free the temple, and the Dutch were finally evicted from the temple on the orders of Thirumalai Nayak, the Nayak ruler of the region. However, while leaving, the Durch removed two utsava murtis (sculptures) of Murugan and took it with them. During their sea voyage, as they encountered strong winds, and dropped them in the middle of the sea. Vadamlaiyappa Pillai later retrieved the idols in 1653. The story is depicted in paintings inside the temple complex. ^[8]

Architecture

Rajagopuram

The temple is one of the Six Abodes of Murugan (Arupadai Veedu), a set of foremost and sacred Hindu temples, dedicated to Murugan. ^[9] It is also one of the Vaippu Sthalams sung by Tamil Shaivite Nayanar Appar. ^{[10] [11]}

The temple complex is located in the eastern end of the town on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. It measures 91 m (299 ft) north to south, 65 m (213 ft) east to west, and has a nine-tier gopuram (tower gate), that is 157 ft (48 m) high. ^[12] The large gopuram is a prominent feature of the Hindu Tamil architecture. ^[13]

The principal entrance faces south, and opens into the first of two prakarams, the first of which is lined with rows of yalis. The inner sanctum of the temple is in a cave and the main deity, or moolavar, is Murugan as a saintly child, portrayed in a granite carving. ^[6]

Nali Kinaru, a sacred well fed by a freshwater spring, is located 100 m (330 ft) south of the temple. Devotees undergo a ritual cleansing by bathing in water from the well after bathing in the ocean. ^[6]

References

1. "Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959". Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department . Retrieved 1 June 2025.
2. "ISO accreditation for Tiruchendur temple". The Hindu . Retrieved 4 December 2016.
3. Civaraman, Akila (2006). Kandha Puranam. Giri Trading. p. 55. ISBN   978-8-179-50397-3. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
4. Handelman, Don (2013). One God, Two Goddesses, Three Studies of South Indian Cosmology. Brill Publishers. p. 31-34. ISBN   978-9-004-25739-9.
5. Kalidasa (1901). Works of Kalidasa:Kumarasambhava. Harvard University. pp. 120–135. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
6. Clothey, Fred W. (1978). The Many Faces of Murukan̲: The History and Meaning of a South Indian God. Walter de Gruyter. p. 55, 121-. ISBN   978-90-279-7632-1.
7. "Lakhs throng Palani, Tiruchendur temples". The Times of India . 26 January 2024. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 1 June 2025.
8. Vink, Markus (2015). Encounters on the Opposite Coast: The Dutch East India Company and the Nayaka State of Madurai in the Seventeenth Century European Expansion and Indigenous Response. BRILL Publishers. p. 347. ISBN   978-9-004-27262-0.
9. "Tiruchendur Subramanya Swamy temple among 2,500 shrines in Tamil Nadu set for makeover". The Indian Express . 21 August 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
10. "Muvar Thevara Vaippu Thalangal". Senthil (Tiruchendur. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
11. "Thevara Vaipu Thalangal". Shiva Temples. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
12. Knapp, Stephen (1 January 2009). Spiritual India Handbook. Jaico Publishing House. pp. 387–. ISBN   978-81-8495-024-3.
13. Ching, Francis D.K.; et al. (2007). A Global History of Architecture. New York: John Wiley and Sons. p.  762. ISBN   978-0-471-26892-5.