The six most sacred abodes of Hindu god Lord Murugan known as

(Aarupadai veedu) in Tamil literature are situated in the state of Tamil !adu in
south "ndia#
$%&
The god is also known as 'arthike(a )kanda *adivela and +uha#
$,&

The six most sacred abodes of Lord Muruga were mentioned in the Tamil literature
Thirumurugatrupadai written b( !akeerar
$-&
and in Thirupugal written b(
Arunagirinathar#
$.&
"n Hinduism the gods )hiva )hakthi *ishnu +anesh Muruga
)ur(a are the six main gods and the supreme gods for the six sub/religions of
Hinduism#
$0&
According to 'aumaram Lord )kanda is the supreme god as told in
)kandapuranam# The six abodes are Tirupparamkunram Thiruchendur
Thiruavinangkudi / 1alani )wamimalai Thiruthani 1a2hamudircholai# The six
abodes of Lord Muruga has separate sthalapuranam
Arupadaiveedu
The Arupadaiveedu (six abodes) are the most important shrines for the devotees of Muruga
in Tamil Nadu, India.
1. Thirupparamkunram
Loated on the outskirts of Madurai on a hillok
!s per the legends, "kanda married Indra#s daughter $evasena (also alled $eva%ani)
here
"age Nakkeerar &orshipped Muruga in this shrine
'e is said to have &orshipped Lord "hiva here as (arangirinathar.
). Tiruhendur
Loated on the sea*shore, near Tutiorin
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.emains of /andhamadana (arvatam or "anthanamalai ("andal Mountain)
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!s per the legends, Muruga &orshiped "hiva and &aged a battle against demon
"oorapadman here
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! &ell alled 2Naa3hi kinaru2 situated nearer to sea has pure &ater.
4. "&amimalai
Loated at 5 km from 6umbakonam, the temple is built on an artifiial hill. In Tamil
language, suh an artifiial hill is alled 26attu Malai2 the banks of a tributar% of river
7auver%.
In "&amimalai, Muruga is kno&n as 28alamurugan2 and 2"&aminatha "&ami.
!nother name for this plae is 2Thiruveragam2
9. Thiruavinangudi ((alani)
The (alani temple is onsidered to be the foremost among Murugan temples of Tamil
Nadu.
Muruga is kno&n as Lord /nanadanda%udhapani.
Loated at 5, 6M from $indigul.
The deit% at the santum santorum is made out of an amalgam of nine minerals
popularl% alled Navabashana. The deit% is in a standing position &ith a baton in his
hand

5. Thiruthani
Loated near 7hennai
!s per the legends, Lord Muruga remained alm and peaeful here after &aging the
&ar &ith !suras and married :alli here
,. (a3hamudirholai
Loated on the outskirts of Madurai on a hillok
;n the top of the hill, there is a hol% stream alled 2Nupura /angai2.
Six sacred abodes
!ording to the Tamil tradition, it is believed that Lord Muruga is living in all the
mountains.
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!mong them the six mountains are onsidered to be ver% sared. 8ut the
seond abode is no& nearer to the sea. The six mountains are desribed in sangam literature
Thirumurukatrupadai (Tamil< ) &ritten b% Nakkeerar (Tamil< ) and in
Thirupugal. !vvai%ar and !gast%a have also omposed man% songs on the different forms of
Muruga seen in the six abodes. Marudamalai (a suburb of 7oimbatore) (, ) is
often onsidered to be the seventh abode.
About Lord Muruga
The stor% of Lord Muruga is desribed in "kanda (urana. !ording to legend in the olden
da%s a demon "oorapadman. 'e tortured the $evas &ho &ent to omplain to Lord :ishnu
and 8rahma. The% assigned 6amadeva to a&ake Lord "hiva from his penane, &ho later
gave birth to 6artike%a. 6artike%a killed "oorabadman and saved the devas. Muruga is
depited as the god of love and &ar. 6artike%a married :alli b% love
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and married
$eiva%anai b% &inning the &ar held at Tiruhendur.
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6aumaram is the sub*set of
'induism in &hih 6artike%a is &orshipped as the supreme deit%.
+
Murugan
Murugan or Kartikeya (also alled "ubraman%a, "ubramani, Muruga, 6arthike%an,
"hanmughan and "hanmukha) is the 'indu god of &ar, vitor%, &isdom and love. 'e is
7ommander of the gods. "on of the lord "hiva and (arvati, his brother is /anesha and his
&ives are :alli and $eiva%anai.
Murugan is &orshiped primaril% in areas &ith Tamil influenes, espeiall% "outh India, "ri
Lanka, Mauritius, Mala%sia, "ingapore and .eunion Island. 'is six most important shrines in
India are the !rupadaiveedu temples, loated in Tamil Nadu. In "ri Lanka, 'indus as &ell as
8uddhists revere the sared historial Nallur 6andas&am% temple in =affna and 6atirk>mam
Temple (also kno&n as 26atharagama $evala%a2 in "inhala) situated deep south.
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Indians in
Mala%sia also pra% to Lord Murugan at the 8atu 7aves and various temples &here Thaipusam
is elebrated &ith grandeur.
In 6arnataka and !ndhra (radesh, 'e is kno&n as Subrahmanya &ith a temple at 6ukke
"ubraman%a kno&n for "arpa shanti rites dediated to 'im and another famous temple at
/hati "ubraman%a also in 6arnataka. In 8engal and ;disha, he is popularl% kno&n as
Kartikeya (meaning #son of 6rittika#).
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Murugan is most popular amongst the Tamil people
&ho
Other names
Like most 'indu deities, "ubrahman%a is kno&n b% man% other names, inluding Senthil,
Vla, Kumran (meaning #prine or hild or %oung one#), Saminatha (meaning #smart# or
#lever#), Sarava a , Arumugam or Shanmuga (meaning #one &ith six faes#), !handapani
(meaning /od &ith a 7lub), "uhan or Guruguha (meaning #ave*d&eller#), Subrahmanya,
Kartikeya and Skanda (meaning #that &hih is spilled or oo3ed).
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'e &as also kno&n as
Mahasena and the 6adamba $%nast% kings &orshiped him b% this name.
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#istorical developmen
Sangam $amil liteature
Tolkappi%am, possibl% the most anient of the extant "angam &orks, dated bet&een the 4rd
entur% 87? and 5th entur% 7? glorified Murugan, 2the red god seated on the blue peaok,
&ho is ever %oung and resplendent,2 as 2the favoured god of the Tamils.2
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The "angam
poetr% divided spae and Tamil land into five allegorial areas (tinai) and aording to the
Tirumurugarruppatai ( . 9@@A95@ !$) attributed to the great "angam poet Nakkiirar,
Murugan &as the presiding deit% the 6urini region (hill% area). (Tirumurugaruppatai is a
deepl% devotional poem inluded in the ten id%lls ((attupattu) of the age of the third
"angam). The other "angam era &orks in Tamil that refer to Murugan in detail inlude the
(aripaatal, the !kananuru and the (urananuru. ;ne poem in the (aripaatal desribes the
veneration of Murugan thus<
!ording to the Tamil devotional &ork, Thiruppuga3h, 2Murugan never hesitates to ome to
the aid of a devotee &hen alled upon in piet% or distress2. In another &ork,
Thirumurukkarrupatai, he is desribed as a god of eternal %outhB
The referenes to Murugan an be traed bak to the first millennium 87?. There are
referenes to Murugan in 6autil%a#s Arthashastra, in the &orks of (atanCali, in 6alidasa#s epi
poem the Kumarasambhavam. The 6ushanas, &ho governed from &hat is toda% (esha&ar,
and the Daudhe%as, a republian lan in the (unCab, struk oins bearing the image of
"kanda. The deit% &as venerated also b% the Ikshvakus, an !ndhra d%nast%, and the /uptas.
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The &orship of 6um>ra &as one of the six prinipal sets of 'induism at the time of !di
"hankara. The "hanmata s%stem propagated b% him inluded this set. In man% "hiva and
$evi temples of Tamil Nadu, Murugan is installed on the left of the main deit%. The stor% of
'is birth goes as follo&s<
"ati immolated herself in a p%re as her father 6ing $aksha had insulted "hiva, her
Lord. "he &as reborn as (arvathi or Ema, daughter of the 6ing of 'imala%as,
'imavan. "he then married her Lord "hiva. The $evas &ere under onslaught from the
!suras &hose leader &as "oorapadman. 'e had been granted boons that onl% Lord
"hiva or his seed ould kill him. Fearless he vanGuished the $evas and made them his
slaves. The $evas ran to :ishnu for help &ho told them that it &as merel% their fault
for attending $aksha#s %agna, &ithout the presene of Lord "hiva. !fter this, the% ran
to "hiva for help. "hiva deided to take ation against "oorapadman#s inreasing
oneit. 'e fro&ned and his third e%e* the e%e of kno&ledge* started releasing sparks.
These &ere six sparks in total. !gni had the responsibilit% to take them to "aravana
Lake. !s he &as arr%ing them, the sparks &ere gro&ing hotter and hotter that even
the Lord of Fire ould not &ithstand the heat. "oon after Murugan &as born on a lotus
in the "aravana Lake &ith six faes, giving him the name !rumukhan. Lord "hiva and
(arvati visited and tears of Co% started flo&ing as the% &itnessed the most handsome
hild. "hiva and (arvathi gave the responsibilit% of taking are of Muruga to the six
6rittika sisters. Muruga gre& up to be a handsome, intelligent, po&erful, lever
%outh. !ll the $evas applauded at their saviour, &ho had finall% ome to release them
from their &oes. Murugan beame the supreme general of the demi*gods, then
esorted the devas and led the arm% of the devas to vitor% against the asuras.
#indu epics
The first elaborate aount of 6artike%a#s origin ours in the Mahabharata. In a ompliated
stor%, he is said to have been born from !gni and "v>ha, after the latter impersonated the six
of the seven &ives of the "aptarishi ("even "ages). The atual &ives then beome the
(leiades. 6artike%a is said to have been born to destro% the !sura Mahisha.
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(In later
m%tholog%, Mahisha beame the adversar% of $urga.) Indra attaks 6artike%a as he sees the
latter as a threat, until "hiva intervenes and makes 6artike%a the ommander*in*hief of the
arm% of the $evas. 'e is also married to $evasena, Indra#s daughter. The origin of this
marriage lies probabl% in the punning of #$eva*sena*pati#. It an mean either lord of $evasena
or Lord of the arm% (sena) of $evas.
+citation needed-
8ut aording to "hrii "hrii !nandamurti, in
his master &ork on "hiva
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and other &orks, 6artike%a &as married to $evasen> and that is
on the ground of his name as $evasena#s husband, $evasen>pati, misinterpreted as $eva*
sen>pati ($eva#s general) that he &as granted the title general and made the $eva#s arm%
Sura samharam%edit&
The Sura Samharam festival is a traditional ritual &here "enaithalavars dress as the
lieutenants of 6arthike%a and re*enat the killing of the demon "urabathman. :eerabahu
$evar, the great hief lieutenant of lord Muruga. The desendants of :eerabahu use
"enaithalaivar name for their aste in Tamil Nadu. "o these people are desendants of $evar.
Their onl% profession &as fighting and leading their soldiers. :eerabahu and his soldiers
helped in sla%ing "urabathman.
Though slightl% var%ing versions our in the (uranas, the% broadl% follo& the same pattern.
8% this period, the identifiation of "hivaI.udra &ith !gni, that an be traed bak to the
:edas and 8rahmanas, had learl% made 6artike%a the son of "hiva.
+citation needed-
The "kanda (urana narrates that "hiva first &ed $aksha%ani (also named "ati), the first
inarnation of !di "hakthi the granddaughter of 8rahma, and the daughter of $aksha.
$aksha a :ishnu devotee never liked "hiva, &ho, s%mboli3ing destrution of evil,
detahment, &ho lives a simple life . $aksha publil% insults "hiva in a Dagna eremon%, and
$aksha%ani immolates herself. The Dagna is destro%ed although proteted b% all the other
/ods and the rishis. Taraka believed that, beause "hiva is an aseti and his earlier marriage
&as onduted &ith great diffiult%, his remarriage &as out of the Guestion, hene his boon of
being killed b% "hiva#s son alone &ould give him invinibilit%.
The $evas manage to get "hiva married to (arvati (&ho &as $aksha%ani, reborn), b% making
Manmatha (also kno&n as 6ama), the /od of love a&aken him from his penane, but
Manmatha inurred the Lord#s &rath indiated b% the opening his third e%e A 2Netri 6ann2,
and being destro%ed and resurreted. "hiva hands over his effulgene of the third e%e used to
destro% Manmatha to !gni, as he alone is apable of handling it until it beomes the desired
offspring. 8ut even !gni, tortured b% its heat, hands it over to /anga &ho in turn deposits it
in a lake in a forest of reeds (sharavanam). Then /oddess (arvati, took the form of this &ater
bod% as she alone is apable of taming the TeCas of "hiva, her onsort. . The hild is finall%
born in this forest (vana) &ith six faes< eesanam, sathpurusham, vamadevam, agoram,
sathyo'atham and adhomugam. 'e is first spotted and ared for b% six &omen representing
the (leiades J 6ritika in "anskrit. 'e thus gets named 6artike%a. !s a %oung lad, he
destro%s Tarakasur.
!ivine legend
/iven that legends related to Murugan are reounted separatel% in several 'indu epis, some
differenes bet&een the various versions are observed. "ome "anskrit epis and puranas
indiate that he &as the elder son of "hiva. This is suggested b% the legend onneted to his
birthB the &edding of "hiva and (arvati being neessar% for the birth of a hild &ho &ould
vanGuish the asura named Taraka. !lso, 6artike%a is seen helping "hiva fight the ne&born
/anesha, "hiva#s other son, in the "hiva (urana. In the /anapati 6handam of the 8rahma
:aivarta (urana, he is seen as the elder son of "hiva and /anesha as the %ounger. In "outh
India, it is believed that he is the %ounger of the t&o. ! (urani stor% has /anesha obtain a
divine fruit of kno&ledge from Narada &inning a ontest &ith Murugan. Khile Murugan
speeds around the &orld thrie to &in the ontest for the fruit, /anesha irumambulates
"hiva and (arvati thrie as an eGuivalent and is given the fruit. !fter &inning it, he offers to
give the fruit to his upset brother. !fter this event, /anesha &as onsidered the elder brother
o&ing as a tribute to his &isdom. Man% of the maCor events in Murugan#s life take plae
during his %outh, and legends surrounding his birth are popular. This has enouraged the
&orship of Murugan as a hild*/od, ver% similar to the &orship of the hild 6rishna in north
India. 'e is married to t&o &ives, :alli and $evasena. This lead to a ver% interesting name <
$evasenapati vi3. (ati (husband) of $evsena andIor "enapati (ommander in hief) of $ev
(gods).
Symbolism
6artike%a s%mbols are based on the &eapons A Vel, the $ivine "pear or Lane that he arries
and his mount the peaok. 'e is sometimes depited &ith man% &eapons inluding< a s&ord,
a Cavelin, a mae, a disus and a bo& although more usuall% he is depited &ielding a sakti or
spear. This s%mboli3es his purifiation of human ills. 'is Cavelin is used to s%mboli3e his far
reahing protetion, his disus s%mboli3es his kno&ledge of the truth, his mae represents his
strength and his bo& sho&s his abilit% to defeat all ills. 'is peaok mount s%mboli3es his
destrution of the ego.
'is six heads represent the six siddhis besto&ed upon %ogis over the ourse of their spiritual
development. This orresponds to his role as the bestower of siddhis.
Murugan &ith his vel, rooster flag and peaok mount at (ahaimalai near
/obihettipala%am
'e is married to t&o deities, :alli, a daughter of a tribal hief and $eiva%anai (also alled
$evasena), the daughter of Indhra. $uring 'is bahelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded
as Kumarasami (or 8ahelor /od), Kumara meaning a bahelor and Swami meaning /od.
Muruga rides a peaok and &ields a bo& in battle. The lane alled Vel in Tamil is a &eapon
losel% assoiated &ith him. The Vel &as given to him b% his mother, (arvati, and embodies
her energ% and po&er. 'is arm%#s standard depits a rooster. In the &ar, "urapadman &as
split into t&o, and eah half &as granted a boon b% Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the
peaok (his mount) and the rooster his flag, &hih also 2refers to the sun2.
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Thirumurugan (oondi ar festival
!s Muruga is &orshipped predominantl% in Tamil Nadu, man% of his names are of Tamil
origin. These inlude Senthil, the red or formidable oneB Arumugam, the six*faed oneB
"uhan and Maal(Marugan, the son*in*la& of :ishnu. Murugan is venerated throughout the
Tamil %ear. There is a six*da% period of fast and pra%er in the Tamil month of !ippasi kno&n
as the "kanda "hasti. 'e is &orshipped at Thaipusam, elebrated b% Tamil ommunities
&orld&ide near the full moon of the Tamil month Thai. This ommemorates the da% he &as
given a Vel or lane b% his mother in order to vanGuish the asuras. Thirukarthigai or the full
moon of the Tamil month of 6arthigai signifies his birth. ?ah Tuesda% of the Tamil month
of !di is also dediated to the &orship of Murugan. Tuesda% in the 'indu tradition onnotes
Mangala, the god of planet Mars and &ar.
Other parts o) *ndia
'istoriall%, /od 6artike%a &as immensel% popular in the Indian subontinent. ;ne of the
maCor (uranas, the "kanda (urana is dediated to him. In the 8hagavad*/ita (7h.1@, :erse
)9), 6rishna, &hile explaining his omnipresene, names the most perfet being, mortal or
divine, in eah of several ategories. Khile doing so, he sa%s< 2!mong generals, I am
"kanda, the lord of &ar.2
6artike%a#s presene in the religious and ultural sphere an be seen at least from the /upta
age. T&o of the /upta kings, 6umaragupta and "kandagupta, &ere named after him. 'e is
seen in the /upta sulptures and in the temples of ?llora and ?lephanta. !s the ommander
of the divine armies, he beame the patron of the ruling lasses. 'is %outh, beaut% and
braver% &as muh elebrated in "anskrit &orks like the 6athasaritsagara. 6alidasa made the
birth of 6umara the subCet of a l%rial epi, the 6umaarasambhavam. In anient India,
6artike%a &as also regarded as the patron deit% of thieves, as ma% be inferred from the
Mrichchakatikam, a "anskrit pla% b% "hudraka, and in the Vetalapanchvimshati, a medieval
olletion of tales. This assoiation is linked to the fat that 6artike%a had dug through the
6raunha mountain to kill Taraka and his brothers (in the Mrichchakatikam, "arivilaka pra%s
to him before tunnelling into the hero#s house).
"ulpture of the god "kanda, from 6annauC, north India, ira 1th entur%.
'o&ever, 6artike%a#s popularit% in North India reeded from the Middle !ges on&ards, and
his &orship is toda% virtuall% unkno&n exept in parts of 'ar%ana. There is a ver% famous
temple dediated to 'im in the to&n of (eho&a in 'ar%ana and this temple is ver% &ell
kno&n in the adCoining areas, espeiall% beause &omen are not allo&ed an%&here lose to it.
Komen sta% a&a% from this temple in (eho&a to&n of 'ar%ana beause this shrine
elebrates the !rahmachari form of 6artike%a. .eminders of former devotions to him inlude
a temple at !halesh&ar, near 8atala in (unCab, and another temple of "kanda atop the
(arvati hill in (une, Maharashtra. !nother vestige of his former popularit% an be seen in
8engal and ;disha, &here he is &orshipped during the $urga (uCa festivities alongside
$urga. Lord "ubraman%a is the maCor deit% among the 'indus of northern 6erala. Lord
"ubraman%a is &orshipped &ith utmost devotion in distrits of $akshina 6annada and Edupi
in the state of 6arnataka. .ituals like nagaradhane are uniGue to this region.
Ettaranhal< Famous and oldest temple of 6artik s&ami is loated at village Maniguh, after
that some loal people establish ne& temple at 6anakhouri. "hri 'ira singh Negi and
Narmda puri take are this temple. !fter death of 'ira "ingh Negi his son presentl% (ooran
singh negi is the head of 6artik%ea seva samiti. ever% %ear 11 da%s of speial puCa &ill be
organi3e in the temple and Idol of kartik%ea &ill bring to temple. .est of the time 6artik%ea
Idol &ill sta% in 'ome of pooran singh negi, Nar%an singh Negi, :ikrant Negi and NeeraC
Negi (famil% members of 'ira singh negi). (resentel% nearest village made 8hag&an 6artik
temple in our village.
6artike%a is &orshiped during $urga (uCa in ;disha as &ell as in various "hiva temples
throughout the %ear. 6artik puCa is elebrated in 7uttak along &ith various other parts of the
state during the last phases of 'indu month of 6artik. 6artik purnima is elebrated &ith
muh Co% and in a grand fashion in 7uttak and other parts in the state.
MalaysiaLord Murugan is one of the most important deities &orshipped b% Tamil
people in Mala%sia and other "outh*?ast !sian ountries suh as "ingapore and Indonesia.
Thai (oosam is one of the important festivals elebrated. "ri "ubraman%ar Temple at 8atu
7aves temple omplex in Mala%sia is dediated to Lord Murugan.
$emples
The main temples of Murugan are loated in Tamil Nadu and other parts of south India. The%
inlude the Aru "adaiveedu (six abodes) J Thiruhendur, "&amimalai, (a3hamudirholai,
Thirupparangunram, (alani ((a3hani), Thiruthani and other important shrines like Ma%ilam,
"ikkal, Marudamalai, 6undrathur, :adapalani, 6andakottam, Thiruporur, :allakottai,
:a%alur, Thirumalaikoil, (ahaimalai and (avalamalai near /obihettipala%am. Malai
Mandir, a prominent and popular temple omplex in $elhi, is one of the fe& dediated to
Murugan in all of North India apart from the (eho&a temple in 'ar%ana.
Murugan represented as !arumugam (sixfaed)
There are man% temples dediated to Lord "ubraman%a in 6erala. !mongst them are
!ti%ambur "ri "ubraman%a Temple in 6anhangad 6asaragod, (a%%annur "ubraman%a
"&am% temple in (a%%anur, (anmana "ubraman%a "&am% temple in (anmana and the
"ubraman%a temple in 'aripad. There is a temple in "kandagiri, "eunderabad and one in
8ikkavolu, ?ast /odavari distrit in the state of !ndhra (radesh. In 6arnataka there is the
6ukke "ubraman%a Temple &here Lord Murugan is &orshiped as the Lord of the serpents.
!aslesha 8ali, "arpa "amskara &ith nagapathista samarpa are maCor pra%ers here. There is a
temple alled Malai Mandir in "outh $elhi. Malai means hill in Tamil. Mandir means temple
in 'indi.
The ke% temples in "ri Lanka inlude the s%lvan shrine in 6ataragama I (6adirgamam) or
6athirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in ?mbekke in
the 6and%an region and the famed Nallur 6andas&am% temple in =affna. There are several
temples dediated to Lord Murugan in Mala%sia, the most famous being the 8atu 7aves near
6uala Lumpur. There is a 9).0*m*high statue of Lord Murugan at the entrane to the 8atu
7aves, &hih is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the &orld. "ri Thanda%uthapani Temple
in Tank .oad, "ingapore is a maCor 'indu temple &here eah %ear the Thaipusam festival
takes plae &ith devotees of Lord Muruga arr%ing 6avadis seeking penane and blessings of
the Lord.
In the Enited 6ingdom, 'ighgate 'ill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous.
In London, "ri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a &ell*kno&n temple. In Midlands,
Leiester "hri "iva Murugan Temple is gaining popularit% reentl%. "kanda :ale in Kest
Kales &as founded b% /uruCi, a Tamil devotee of "ubramaniam, and its primar% deit% is
Lord Murugan. In !ustralia, "%dne% Murugan temple in (arramatta (Ma%s 'ill), (erth 8ala
Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and 6undrathu 6umaran temple in .okbank, Melbourne
are maCor 'indu temples for all !ustralian 'indus and Murugan devotees. In Ne& Lealand,
there is a Thirumurugan Temple in !ukland and a 6urinCi 6umaran Temple in Kellington,
both dediated to Lord Murugan. In the E"!, "hiva Murugan Temple in 7onord, Northern
7alifornia and Murugan Temple of North !meria
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in Mar%land, Kashington $7 region
are popular. In Toronto, 7anada, 7anada 6anthasam% Temple is kno&n amongst man%
'indus in 7anada. In $ollard*des*;rmeaux, a suburb of the it% of Montreal in 7anada, there
is a monumental temple of Murugan. The "ri "ivasubramaniar Temple, loated in the "ihl
:alle% in !dlis&il, is the most famous and largest 'indu temple in "&it3erland.
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The Legend and his "6 Battle Houses":
Legends state that Lord Muruga emerged as six sparks of flame from the third-eye of Lord Shiva to destroy the
demons. The Lord is well known for his extraordinary energy for defeating the evildoers in order to save his
devotees and disciples. The popular south Indian maxim goes, !herever there is a mount, there is a shrine for
Lord Muruga" the omnipresent# There are numerous temples for Lord Muruga across the glo$e" still the % &attle
'ouses ()rupadai *eedu+, holds a special emphasis among the group of shrines.,
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Pazhani (120 Km west from adurai!:
"ignifiane< (a3hani is one of the most visited temples in Tamil Nadu and is one
of the revered shrines of Lord Muruga. The $handa%udhapani Temple dediated to
Lord Muruga, and regarded one of his !rupadai :eedu ("ix 8attle 7amps), is
situated here. The temple situated atop the "ivagiri hills is small but attrats a flood
of devotees from all over the ountr%. The arhiteture of the temple dates bak to
(and%a 6ingdom. The temple is famous for its gold gopuram (temple to&er), most
admirabl% &orked. "teps are he&n into the rok, besides a &ide path meant for the
asent of elephants, up the hill. In addition, a funiular rail&a% &ith three traks
and a rope*ar have been provided more reentl% for the omfort of the pilgrims.
To keep up &ith the traditions of all the temples of the /od "ubramanian, another
temple is dediated to his &orship near the foot of the "ivagiri mound. It goes b%
the name of 2Thiru !vinankudi2, and is remarkable for the exGuisite appearane of
the hief deit% besides the other sulptures.
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Pazhamudir"holai (10 miles north of adurai!:
"ignifiane< Loated near !3hagar 6ovil near Madurai, is a simple shrine on the
(a3hamudirholai hill &ith dense forests, enshrining Lord Muruga. ;ne of the six
important abodes !rupadaiveedu of Lord Muruga, it is ver% lose to the :ishnu
temple of !3hagar 6ovil. ;ne an reah (a3hamudirholai b% ar, van, t&o*
&heeler or bus. There is a bus shuttle for ever% )@ minutes from the foot of the hill
to the Temple. It takes approximatel% 15 minutes to reah the temple.
!t the entrane of (a3hamudirholai there is a temple alled !3hagar 6ovilB the
deit% being Lord :ishnu in the form of a protetor, safeguarding Lord Muruga.
(a3hamudirholai is a hill, &hih is rih in fruits, vegetables and flo&ers. It is a
dense forest &here 2:alli2 is supposed to have lived. It is a small temple &ith
:alli, $eivana%, and Lord Muruga in a separate shrine. Lord /anesha is also
present in a separate shrine. There is a Temple To&er and monke%s pla% around
the area. There is another small temple above (a3hamudirholai. Loal tribes lead
their lives here. It is a fertile hill &ith man% natural springs and herbs.
!lthough there are hundreds of Temples in Tamil Nadu for Lord Muruga,
partiularl% these six temples alled the 2!rupadaiveedu2 are ver% famous among
them. Important events in Lord Muruga#s histor% happened in these plaes. !mong
the !rupadaiveedu ("ix Temples), (a3hamudirholai is said to be the last abode.
The great Tamil poetess and saint !vvai%ar had been tested for her kno&ledge b%
Lord Muruga here b% an intelligent pla%. It is believed that the pla% took plae in
this abode dediated to Lord Muruga. 'ere is &here Lord 6anda blessed the old
Tamil (oetess &ith bountiful kno&ledge
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#wamimalai ($ear Kum%a&onam!:
"ignifiane< "&amimalai Murugan Temple is a 'indu temple loated near to
6umbakonam and ThanCavur in India.
It is one of the 2!rupadaiveedu2, believed to be one of the six main abodes of
Muruga. !ording to 'indu belief, "&amimalai is &here Muruga preahedB &hat
is alled as 2(ranava mantra2 to his o&n father, "hiva, at a tender age, after
arresting #8rahma# for not ans&ering his Guestion about (ranava Mantra.
In "&amimalai the Lord Murugan is alled as 28alamurugan2 and 2"&aminatha
"&ami2. The 7hola 6ingdom enshrined "&aminathan (one of the names of Lord
Muruga), in a temple built on an artifiial mound, aessed through a flight of ,@
steps s%mboli3ing the ,@ %ears that onstitute the %le of %ears as per the Indian
almana.
The histor% for the temple is generall% alled as 2"thala (uranam2, and is as
follo&s< ;ne da% Lord 8rahma, the reator of living things, failed to give due
respet to Lord Muruga &ho is the %ounger son of Lord "hiva. 'ene, Lord
Muruga got angr% &ith Lord 8rahma and Guestioned him about his reating
proedure. Lord 8rahma said that he &as reating livings &ith the help of :edas
(The 'ol% 'induism 8ooks). Epon hearing the repl%, Lord Muruga asked Lord
8rahma to tell the "logans from suh :edas. 8rahma started reiting slogans &ith
the 'ol% &ord alled 2;m2B the (ranava mantra. "till, Muruga &anted to learn the
meaning behind the &ord 2;m2. Lord 8rahma did not have a solid explanation for
thisB and so the anno%ed Muruga punished him &ith an imprisonment and began to
&ork over the proess reating livings himself.
Lord "hiva ame to kno& about the inident and reGuested Lord Muruga to release
Lord 8rahma. Lord Muruga refused to his father#s reGuest on the grounds that Lord
8rahma &as not a apable reator as he himself didn#t kno& the meaning of the
(ranava Mantra. Epon hearing to this, Lord "hiva &anted to kno& if Lord Muruga
kne& the real meaning of the mantra. Lord Muruga, &ho kne& the real meaning of
the &ord, laid a ondition that he &ould reveal the ans&er but onl% if Lord "hiva
&as read% to listen to it b% pa%ing the due respet as a disiple &ould do to his
teaher. Lord "hiva, felt proud about his son#s kno&ledge and agreed to the
ondition. This important and interesting inident is believed to have taken plae at
2s&ami Malai2B the meaning of &hih is 2The Teaher of Lord "hiva2. Thus is the
signifiane of the plae. The temple is ver% famous for its other properties like the
/olden dress for the deit%, a /olden ro&n and $iamond :elI Lane for the Lord.
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Tiruthani ('0 Km north of (hennai!:
"ignifiane< Loated near Tirupathi and 7hennai, enshrines Lord "ubramanian in
a hill temple aessed through a flight of 4,5 steps. It represents the site of
Muruga#s marriage &ith :alli. !part from its historial greatness, "aint
!runagirinathar has praised this hill as the hosen plae for &orship b% the great
devas and the favorite abode of saints to perform prolonged tapas (meditating on
/od for %ears together at a streth). "ri Muttus&ami $eekshitar, &ho lived )@@
%ears ago (one of the trinit% of the 27arnati musi#* the Traditional musi of south
India) had his inspiration in Tiruthani &hen the Lord Muruga (in the disguise of an
old man) met him on the steps of the temple and s&eetened his tongue &ith the
prasad of this temple, &hih provoked him to sing his first song on Lord Muruga
of Tanikai.
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Thiru)aram&undram (' Km from adurai!:
Signifiane< Loated near Madurai, this po&er vortex enshrines Lord
"ubramanian elebrating his marriage &ith $eivana%, the daughter of Lord Indra.
The shrine to "hiva here has been revered b% the $evaram h%mns b% the
ommunit% of people alled the 2Na%anmars.2
"aint /nana "ambanda, the famous "aint of the 0th 7entur%, has visited
Thiruparamkundram and has sung the $evaram song on Lord "hiva. (robabl%, this
"hiva temple is the present temple in the main road near the entrane to the
Thiruparamkundram Murugan temple. The struture and the legend behind the
temple are Guite old and anient. /nana "ambanda holds the signifiane of
meeting the three Tamil hiefs, the 7hera, the 7hola and the (and%a in this temple,
and having sho&ered his blessings to all the three of them.
;ne of the inGuisitive things about this temple is that, the /ods "hiva and :ishnu
fae eah other in the main shrine (never found in this posture in an% other temple
exept for in this temple). This is beause 'induism &as al&a%s apprehended into
t&o distint &orshipping groups * the "haivites (&orshippers of Lord "hiva) and
the :aishnavites (&orshippers of Lord :ishnu). ;utside the temple there is a
beautiful pond &here, aording to the temple#s tradition, the devotees offer the
fishes &ith salt and rie flakes. There is also a :edi shool adCaent to the banks
of the temple pond.
In front of the $&aCasthambam or the 6odi Maram, one gets the magnifientl%
arved Nandi (bull), Ma%il (peaok) and the Mouse (the vehile of Lord
/anesha). This is a speialt% of this Murugan shrine. /oing inside, one an see the
altars of various 'indu /ods and /oddesses. ;f speial mention is the altar of the
"aturn /od &ithout the other eight planets. 7limbing a flight of six steps alled the
2"hadashara (adigal2, is a speialt% here. ;ne gets to see the rok arvings of
various /ods and /oddesses like Mahishasura Mardini, 6arpaga :ina%agar,
!ndarabaranar and Eggirar. The hief deit%#s statue is also sulptured from a rok.
!bhishekams for the presiding deit% is done to Muruga#s :elI lane onl%.
There are five 2Theerthams2Idivine &ater soures, in and around the temple.
Namel%< "aravana (oigai, Lakshmi Theertham, "ani%asi 6inaru (saint#s &ell), 6asi
"unai and "athi%a 6oopam.
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Thiru"hendur (100&m south of adurai!:
"ignifiane< This po&er spot enshrines Lord Muruga in a vast temple &ith a loft%
2gopuram2 (temple to&er) visible for miles, on the shores of the oean in the
"outhern Tamil Nadu. Thiruhendur is the plae &here Lord Muruga used as the
base amp, before invading the demon king of "uran from "ri Lanka. ?ah
2!rupadaiveedu2 has an event mentioned in the 2(uranas2 (legends). Thiruhendur
is said to be seond in importane among his six abodes. This plae is also referred
to b% other names in religious poems and literature as Thiruheeralaivai,
Thiruhenthil, Thiruhenthi%oor, et. The deit% is &orshipped b% various names
suh as "enthilandavan, "enthilkumaran and so on. The temple is situated so lose
to the sea that &aves from the /ulf of Mannar lap, at the eastern perimeter &all of
the temple.