The Vayalur Murugan Temple is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temple dedicated to

Muruga 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 ...

, son of Lord

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 ...

and

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 ...

, located in the village of

Kumaravayalur Kumaravayalur is a village in Tiruchirappalli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The place is located 9 kilometres from the heart of Tiruchirappalli city and has the Subramanya Swamy temple. It is 357 kilometres from state capital C ...

in Tiruchirapalli district,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, India. The temple is believed to have been initiated during the period of

Medieval Cholas Medieval Cholas rose to prominence during the middle of the 9th century CE and established one of the greatest empires of South India. They successfully united South India under their rule and through their naval strength extended their influen ...

during the 9th century. 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, lik ...

. Though the presiding deity is Shiva, the temple is known for the Murugan shrine. The temple is associated with Hindu savant, Kirupanandha Variyar.

The temple

This temple is around 1200 years old and was built during the reign of

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

. The temple was built by the Cholas in the 9th century AD. The temple is surrounded by lush green fields and located close to the Uyyakondan river. The ''gopuram'' of the temple was connected by the Hindu savant, Kirupanandha Variyar. The main deity in the temple is

, it is behind the Moolavar

Sannithy. The other Sannithys in this temple are Moolavar arulmigu Athi Nathar (Lord Shiva). ''Agni Theertham'' also known as Shakthi Theertham. According to a legend, Lord Muruga himself created this tank with his Velayudham. ''Sthala Vriksham'': ''Vanni Maram'' (Vanni tree) is seen in the left side from the entrance of rajagopuram. The five-tiered rajagopuram is a modern addition. The presiding deity Shiva is represented in the form of Adinathar and his consort Adinayagi. The image of Muthukumaraswawmy is located in the first precinct behind the sanctum.

Festivals

The temple priests perform the '' puja'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. The temple rituals are performed six times a day; ''Kalasanthi'' at 6:00 a.m., ''Muthalam Kalam'' at 8:00 a.m., ''Uchikalam'' at 12:00 a.m., ''Sayarakshai'' at 6:00 p.m, ''Rendam Kalam'' at 8:00 p.m. and ''Arthajamam'' at 9:00 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 Kachabeswarar and Anjanatchi. 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''. The eleven-day ''Vaikasi Visakam'' 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 ''Vaikasi'' (May - June), ''Thai Poosam'' during the Tamil month of ''Thai'' (January - February), ''Panguni Uthiram'' during the month of Mar - Apr, ''Vaikasi Visakam'' , the birth star of Murugan during the month of May - June, ''Adi Kirthikai'' during the month of July/August, ''Thiru Karthikai'' during the month of oct/nov and ''Kanda shasti'' November are the most prominent festivals in the temple. The temple is a very prominent temples dedicated to Murugan.

Literary mention

Arunagirinathar Arunagirinaadhar (Aruna-giri-naadhar, ', ) was a Tamil Saiva saint-poet who lived during the 15th century in Tamil Nadu, India. In his treatise ''A History of Indian Literature'' (1974), Czech Indologist Kamil Zvelebil places Arunagirinathar's ...

was a 15th-century Tamil poet born in

Tiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvanna ...

. He spent his early years as a rioter and seducer of women. After ruining his health, he tried to commit suicide by throwing himself from the northern tower of

Annamalaiyar Temple Arunachalesvara Temple (also called Annamalaiyar Temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located at the base of Arunachala hill in the town of Thiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Shaivis ...

, but was saved by the grace of 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 ...

. He became a staunch devotee and composed Tamil hymns glorifying Murugan, the most notable being ''Thirupugazh''. Arunagirinathar visited various Murugan temples and on his way back to Tiruvannamalai, visited Vayalur and sung praises about Murugan. Zvelebil 1991, p. 53

Notes

References

External links

Temple's home page
*http://www.murugan.org/temples/vayalur.htm

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vayalur Murugan Temple Hindu temples in Tiruchirappalli district Murugan temples in Tamil Nadu