The Mutharamman Temple (Kulasai Mutharamman Temple) is located in

Kulasekharapatnam Kulasekharapattinam, also spelt Kulasekharapatnam is a town in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, India. Historically, it was an important port on the Coromandel Coast, alongside Kaveripumpattinam (Poompuhar) and Arikamedu (near Pondich ...

near

Thiruchendur Tiruchendur (Tamil: ''Tiruccentūr'' �t̪iɾɯtːʃen̪d̪uːr also ''jayantipuram'') is a municipality in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is home to the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, one of the Six Abodes of Murugan. Geogr ...

in the

Thoothukudi district The Thoothukkudi District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India. On 20 October 1986, an M. G. Ramachandran-led government bifurcated the Tirunelveli district to form the district. It is shared by its boundaries w ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. 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 Indi ...

. It is 300 years old. The temple is situated at a distance of 14 km. from Tiruchendur.அருள்மிகு முத்தாரம்மன் திருக்கோவில், குலசேகரன்பட்டினம்
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Presiding deity

The presiding deities are found in sitting posture. Just below them Siva in the form of a swyambu is found.The presiding deities, facing North, are Mutharamman and Gnanamoorthy. The temple tree is neem. As Meenakshi in

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

, Mutharamaman gets a prominent place here.அருள்மிகு முத்தாரம்மன் திருக்கோயில், தினமலர் கோயில்கள்
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Structure

The primary deities are found in sitting posture. Mutharaman is found with ornaments, wearing mangalsutra. Her right leg is folded. Gnanamoorthy is having spectre in one hand and vibuthi in another hand. His left leg is folded. In the mandapa, Petchiamman, Karuppasamy and Bairavar are found.

Dasara

There is a story connected with Dasara in this temple. Once Varamuni, a rishi did not give proper respect to

Agastya Agastya was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent. He is regarded in some traditions to be a Chiranjivi. He and his wife ...

. He cursed him to have the head of ox and human body. He would rid of from the curse through the Goddess. He, as

Mahishasura Mahishasura (, ) is a bovine asura in Hinduism. He is depicted in Hindu texts, Hindu literature as a deceitful demon who pursued his evil ways by shape-shifting. Mahishasura was the son of the asura Rambha (asura), Rambha and the brother of buf ...

went to all the places. In order to escape from him the Devas and rishis prayed Siva. Lord Siva, in turn, asked them to worship

Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...

and get relieved from him. They did penance. The Goddess helped them to protect the penance. At that time, through the yaga, a baby girl namely Lalitambikai appeared. The child grew up in nine days and on the tenth day she became the Parasakthi Lalitambikai and slayed Mahishasura. The 10th day, of his killing, is celebrated as Dasara. The previous nine days are celebrated as

Navaratri Navaratri () is an annual Hindu festival observed in honor of the goddess Durga, an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine nights, first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and aga ...

. Dussehra, the most famous temple after Mysore in India is held in this temple. During this festival, devotees from all over Tamil Nadu fast for 91, 48, 41, 31, 21, 11 days and take Kumbha wearing various costumes. Lakhs of people gather in this popular festival.

Prayers

In order to get rid of smallpox the devotees worshipping here. If one follow vradha and worship the deity those who are affected by leprosy and mentally affected would be relieved of the disease. The devotees fulfill their vows by various means.

History

During the festival processions are held round the various houses and special

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

s with a curved hook at the end called palli val (great or honourable sword) are carried by the Vannathar worshippers.These swords are worshipped during the Dusserah festival in October and in some shrines they form the only emblem of the deity

References

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External links

*The location of the templ

Thoothukudi Hindu temples in Thoothukudi district Dravidian architecture