The Thanumalayan temple (Tamil:தாணுமாலயன் திருக்கோவில்) is an important Hindu temple located in Suchindram in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India.
The Thanumalayan Temple (Sthanumalayan Temple ) is of importance to Shaivaites and Vaishnavite Sects of Hinduism. The name Stanumalaya denotes trimurtis; Stanu means Siva; Mal means Vishnu; and the Aya means Brahma.
Construction of the temple extended over a period of at least six hundred years. In olden days the temple is controlled by Namboodiris, one of the main Namboodiri family is called thekkumon madam. Parts date back as far as the ninth or tenth century, others from the fifteenth century, and a huge seven-storey pyramidal gopura was erected during the sixteenth century.
The place got the name of Suchindrum, according to Sthala Purana. Hindu Mythological legend has it that king of devas, Indra got relieved of a curse at the place of the main linga in the temple. The term "Suchi" in Suchindrum is believed to have derived from the Sanskrit meaning that stands for "purify".Accordingly Lord Indra is supposed to visit the temple for performing "Ardhajama Pooja" or Worship at midnight every day.
The temple is an architectural marvel known for its quality of workmanship in stone. The musical pillars carved out of single stone and which stands at 18 feet is an architectural delight. There are seven musical pillars in the Alangara Mandapam, each cut out of single rock, which emit the sounds of various musical instruments when struck. There are 1035 pillars with carvings in the dancing hall.
The Anjaneya or Hanuman statue stands at 22 feet (3m) and is carved of a single granite block and is one of the tallest statues in India. It is of great historical interest that this statue was buried in the temple, fearing an attack by Tippu Sultan and was subsequently forgotten.
The statue was re-installed when Sri M.K. Neelakanta Iyer, the then Secretary of the Devaswom Board, an extremely pious and honourable aristocrat under the Maharaja of Travancore tripped and fell while circumambulating the temple. The Namboothiris were summoned and after a detailed study of Prasnam, it was found that the Hanuman statue was buried there.
The Nandi statue, made of mortar and lime, and which is 13 feet tall is one of the biggest Nandi statue in India.
The religious significance of the temple stems from the fact that the main statue of linga represent Siva (Sthanu), Vishnu (maal) and Brahma (Ayan). The representation of the three central gods of Hinduism in one Linga makes it one of the unique temple in India. Anthropologically it could be stemmed from the fact that Travancore with the main temple at Padmanabhapuram was Vaishnavite and the Nanjil Pillais and other community in Nagarcoil were primarily Shaivaites, because of the influences from Chola, Chera and Pandya kingdoms before the advent of Travancore kingdom. One of the unique aspects of the temple is the presence of the gods across the length and breadth of the Hindu pantheon, from Rama and Krishna to Amman and kandan. The different Hindu sects from Vaishnavism, shaivism, to more localised Tamil sects like amman, kandan are represented in the different idols of the temple.
The car festival celebrated in this temple during December/January every year attracts crowds of thousands of people. Another festival known as Teppam is celebrated during April/May every year The Sanskrit work Sucindrastalamahatmya gives a full fledged legendary account of the origin and development of this temple.