Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Thiruparankundram is a
Hindu temple
A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...
dedicated to the god
Murugan
Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...
(also known as Kartikeya and Subramaniya Swamy) at
Thiruparankundram
Thiruparankundram, also spelled Tirupparankundram or Tiruparangundram, is a town in Madurai district in Tamil Nadu, India. It is about from Madurai city and constitutes the southwest part of the greater Madurai city (Municipal Corporation). The ...
,
Tamilnadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language— ...
, India. It is regarded as one of the "
six Abodes of Murugan
The Six Abodes of Murugan () are six temples situated in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India, dedicated to the Hindu deity Murugan, also referred to as Kandaswamy, Kartikeya, Skanda, and Vadivela at various temples. These six sacred abodes o ...
". The temple is built in rock-cut architecture and believed to have been built by the
Pandyas during the 6th century. According to the legend. it is where Murugan slayed the demon
Surapadman and married
Deivayanai
Devasena (, ) is a Hindu goddess of aspiration, and the consort of the war god Kartikeya (Murugan). She is also known as Devayanai, Deivanai, and Deivayanai in Tamil texts. Her name is also spelled as Teyvanai or Tevayanai ().
Devasena is ...
, the daughter of the king of heaven,
Indra. Also, Murugan is said to have worshipped his father
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
here as Parangirinathar.
The temple is located from
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. In the main shrine, apart from Murugan, the deities Shiva,
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
,
Vinayaka
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu de ...
(Ganesha) and
Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around c ...
are housed. The temple follows
Shaiva
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
tradition of worship. Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Kantha Sashti festival during the
Tamil month
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
of ''Aippasi'' (October - November) being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the
Government of Tamil Nadu
Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, l ...
.
Legend
![Thiruparamkundram (22)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Thiruparamkundram_%2822%29.jpg)
Thiruparamkundram finds mention in the ''
Kanda Puranam
The ''Skanda Purana'' (IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest '' Mukyapurana'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Kaumara literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, w ...
'' detailing the slaying of
Surapadman by the god Murugan. As per Hindu legend, the demon king Surapadman, once obtained boons from the god Shiva on account of severe
penance. He started ruling the 1008 worlds on account of the power attained. He married Padumakomalai and had several sons. Viramkendiram, a city created in the seas, became his capital and he started troubling the
devas (the gods). He imprisoned
Indra (the king of the gods) and also desired Indra's wife
Indrani
Indrani (Sanskrit: इन्द्राणी, IAST: ''Indrāṇī, lit.'' Indra's queen), also known as Shachi (Sanskrit: शची, IAST: ''Śacī''), is the queen of the devas in Hinduism. Described as tantalisingly beautiful, proud and ...
. Indra sought the help of Shiva's son and the god of war Murugan. Murugan sent his messenger Viravakutevar to the demon, who remained unmoved. A severe battle was fought in Thiruparamkundram where Murugan killed all the sons of the Surapadman except Iraniyan. Surapadman hid under the sea. Murugan split him into two pieces, which went on to become the god's divine vehicles, peacock and rooster. The day when Murugan slayed Surapadman is celebrated as Skanda Sashti festival in all the Murugan temples.
In gratitude, Indra married his daughter
Deivayanai
Devasena (, ) is a Hindu goddess of aspiration, and the consort of the war god Kartikeya (Murugan). She is also known as Devayanai, Deivanai, and Deivayanai in Tamil texts. Her name is also spelled as Teyvanai or Tevayanai ().
Devasena is ...
to Murugan at Thiruparamkundram. Murugan is believed to have worshipped Shiva here as Parangirinathar. ''Kanthar Anoobothi'', a treatise of the divine marriage records that Murugan asked all the divine angels and gods who attended the marriage to fly back to heaven in their own vehicles in ''Mano veham'' (speed of thought).
History
![Tirupparamkundram Murugan temple gopuram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Tirupparamkundram_Murugan_temple_gopuram.jpg)
Inscriptional evidences point out that this temple, being carved out of a hill, was most probably earlier a
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
cave. There is another theory that earlier to this, the Murugan temple existed much before the 6th century and converted into Jain shrine by
Jain monks under the aegis of Pandya king
Koon Pandiyan
Koon Pandiyan ("The hunch-backed Pandyan") was the nickname of a king who ruled Madurai around 7th century. Some historians identify him with the Pandyan king Arikesari Parankusa Maravarman.
He converted from Shaivism to Jainism, but then r ...
. The temple was later converted into a Hindu temple under the tutelage of Gajapathy, the minister of a later Pandya King, during the later part of the 8th century. The temple has several additions during the regime of
Madurai Nayaks who commissioned the pillared halls in the temple.
[ As of 2021, the temple is maintained and administered by the ]Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu
Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislatur ...
of the Government of Tamil Nadu
Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, l ...
.
Architecture
The temple is located from Madurai, on the Madurai - Tenkasi
Tenkasi is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...
road. The temple is built rock-cut architecture dating back to the Pandya period of 6th century and the life sized sculptures in the ''mandapa''s of the Nayaka period during the 16th century. An ''Aasthaana Mandapa'' with several artistically carved pillar
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
s lead one to the towering high seven-tiered rajagopuram at the entrance. The granite hill behind the temple is has a shrine of Kasi Viswanatha (Shiva) at the top. The image of Vinayaka
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu de ...
(Ganesha) in the temple holds sugarcane and fruits. The inner rock cut image is made from a single stone.
The Kambathadi Mandapam, Ardha Mandapam, and Mahamandapam, the three halls leading to the sanctum, are situated at varying elevation. The main shrine is an early rock cut temple which has cells that house the sanctums of Murugan, Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around c ...
, Vinayaka, Shiva and Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
. All the statues are carved on the wall of the parankundram rock. Shiva is worshipped as Parangirinathar with his wife Parvati
Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...
as Aavudai Nayaki. Panels depicting Shiva's dance of bliss are seen outside the sanctum.[
A notable feature of this temple is that the Shiva and Vishnu face each other in the main shrine, considered a rare thing in ancient Hindu temples. Outside the temple there is a ]water tank
A water tank is a container for storing water.
Water tanks are used to provide storage of water for use in many applications, drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming, both for plants and livestock, chemi ...
, where the fishes are served with salt and rice flakes by the devotees. There is also a Vedic school on the banks of the temple pond. In front of the '' Dwajasthambam'', the flag staff, there is a carved Nandi (bull), Mayil (peacock) and mouse, the Vahanas (vehicles) of Shiva, Murugan and Vinayaka. There is a flight of six steps called the "Shadashara Padigal", before Ardha Mandapam. The rock carvings of Mahisshasura Mardini (Durga), Karpaga Vinayagar (Ganesha), Andarabaranar and Uggirar are seen in the hall. There are five water bodies, namely, Saravana Poigai, Lakshmi Theertham, Saniyasi Kinaru (well), Kasi Sunai, and Sathiya Koopam.[
]
Literary mention
The 7th-century Shaiva saint Sambandar
Sambandar (Tamil: சம்பந்தர்), also referred to as Tirugnana Sambandar (lit. ''Holy Sage Sambandar''), Tirujnanasambanda, Campantar or Jñāṉacampantar, was a Shaiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th cen ...
visited Thirupparamkunram and praised the Shiva icon of the temple Uchinathar in ten verses in ''Tevaram
The ''Thevaram'' ( ta, தேவாரம், ), also spelled ''Tevaram'', denotes the first seven volumes of the twelve-volume collection ''Tirumurai'', a Śaiva narrative of epic and puranic heroes, as well as a hagiographic account of early ...
'', compiled as the '' First Tirumurai''. As the temple is revered in ''Tevaram'', it is classified as ''Paadal Petra Sthalam
The Paadal Petra Sthalam, also known as Thevara Sthalam, are 276 temples that are revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent. The Divya Desams by comparison ar ...
'', one of the 276 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon. The temple is counted as the third in the series of the temples on bank of river Vaigai
The Vaigai is a river in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India; it passes through the towns of Theni, Dindigul and Madurai. It originates in Varusanadu Hills, the Periyar Plateau of the Western Ghats range, and flows northeast through the ...
.
Sambandar met the three Tamil chiefs, the Chera, the Chola and the Pandya in this temple and blessed them. Sundarar and Sambandar composed the Tevaram Pathigam here. Nakkirar composed many poems on the Murugan icon. ''Tiruppugazh'', ''Kandapuranam'' and other works speak of the glory of this shrine.
Religious importance and festivals
The temple priests daily perform the '' puja'' (rituals). The temple rituals are performed three times a day; ''Kalasanthi'' at 8:00 a.m., ''Uchikalam'' at 12:00 a.m. and ''Sayarakshai'' at 6:00 p.m. Each ritual comprises four steps: ''abhisheka
Abhisheka () means "bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered." It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhisheka is common to Indian religions su ...
'' (sacred bath), ''alangaram'' (decoration), '' naivethanam'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for Uchinathar (Shiva) and Uchinayagi (Parvati).[ There are weekly rituals like ' (Monday) and ' (Friday), fortnightly rituals like '']pradosha
Pradosha or Pradosham (IAST: Pradoṣa) is a bimonthly occasion on the thirteenth day of every fortnight in the Hindu calendar. Aiya V. 1906, p. 103 It is closely connected with the worship of the Hindu god Shiva. The auspicious three-hour perio ...
m'', and monthly festivals like '' amavasai'' (new moon day), ''kiruthigai'', '' pournami'' (full moon day) and ''sathurthi''.
Skanda Shashti festival celebrated during the Tamil month
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
of ''Aippasi'' (October - November) is the most prominent festival of the temple. Murugan killing Surapadman is enacted during the last of the six days and the festive image of Murugan is taken in different mounts around the streets of the temple during the festival. Brahmotsavam
Sri Venkateswara Swami vari Brahmotsavam or Srivari Brahmotsavam is the most significant annual fête celebrated at the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala-Tirupati, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The feast lasts for one month during t ...
here falls in the Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
month of Panguni. The Vishnu named Pavalakanivai Perumal, and Murugan are taken in procession to Madurai to celebrate Minakshi
Meenakshi (Sanskrit: ; Tamil: ; sometimes spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ), is a Hindu goddess and tutelary deity of Madurai who is considered an avatar of the Goddess Parvati also referred to as Durga. She is the divine consort o ...
's wedding ( Chittirai festival), with residents of Madurai dressed in festive clothing. Nakkirar's association with this temple is also celebrated as a festival. Karthigai Deepam
Kartika Deepam () is a festival of lights that is observed mainly by Hindu Tamils, and also by adherents in the regions of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Sri Lanka. Celebrated in Tamilakam since the ancient period, the festi ...
festival is also celebrated during the Tamil month of ''Karthigai'' by lighting a lamp on top of the hill. Vaikasi Visakam, and the float festival in ''Thai''(Tamil month) are the other festivals celebrated in the temple. Since the image of Vishnu is in the temple, Vaikunta Ekadashi
Vaikuntha Ekadashi () is a Hindu occasion and festival. It is primarily observed by Vaishnavas, who regard it to be a special Ekādaśī. It coincides with '' Mokṣadā Ekādaśī'' or Putrada Ekādaśī. It is observed on the 11th lunar d ...
is also celebrated.
References
External links
Photo gallery of Thirupparamkunram Murugan Temple
{{Murugan temples
Hindu temples in Madurai district
Hindu temples in Madurai
Religious buildings and structures in Madurai
Buildings and structures in Madurai
Murugan temples in Tamil Nadu
Kaumaram