Six Abodes of Murugan

Six Abodes of Murugan
Name
Other names Aarupadai Veedu
Proper name Six Holy abodes of Lord Muruga
Tamil அறுபடை வீடு
Geography
Country India
State Tamil Nadu
Location Thiruthani, Swamimalai, Pazhani, Pazhamudircholai, Thiruparankundram, Thiruchendur
Culture
Primary deity Kartikeya
Important festivals Kaumaram, Thaipusam
Architecture
Architectural styles Dravidian Architecture
Number of temples 6

The Six Abodes of Murugan (Tamil: Āṟupaṭai vīṭu) are six temples situated in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India.[1] The god is known by different names such as Karthikeya, Skanda, Vadivela and Muruga at various temples.[2] The six most sacred abodes of Murugan was mentioned in Tamil sangam literature, "Thirumurugatrupadai", written by Nakkeerar[3] and in "Thirupugal", written by Arunagirinathar.[4] The six abodes are Thiruthani, Swamimalai, Palani, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparankunram and Thiruchendur.

About Lord Muruga

The story of Lord Muruga is described in Skanda Purana. According to the legend, in the olden days the demon Soorapadman tortured the Devas, who went to complain to Lord Vishnu and Brahma. They assigned Kamadeva to awake Lord Shiva from his penance, who later gave birth to Kartikeya. Kartikeya killed Soorabadman and saved the devas. Muruga is depicted as the god of love and war. Kartikeya married Valli by love[5] and married Deivayanai by winning the war held at Tiruchendur.[6][7] Kaumaram is the sub-sect of Hinduism in which Kartikeya is worshipped as the supreme deity.[8]

In Tamil literature five types of lands are explained. They are Kurinji (mountainous region), Mullai (forest region), Marutham (agricultural region), Neithal (coastal region) and Palai (desert region). Separate gods for these land types are clearly told in Sangam literature. According to the literature Lord Muruga is the god of mountainous region,.[9]

Arupadaiveedu

Temple Location (North to South) Description
Swamimalai Murugan Temple Swamimalai, kumbakonam Located at 5 km from Kumbakonam, the temple is built on an artificial hill. The temple commemorates the incident where Muruga explained the essence of the pranava mantra "Om" to his father Shiva.
Thiruthani Murugan Temple Thiruthani, Thiruvallur district Located near Chennai, Murugan reclaimed his inner peace after waging a war with Asuras and married Valli here.
Palani Murugan Temple Pazhani, Dindigul district Located in Dindigul District, on the Palani hill bottom ( Malai Adivaram ) called 'Thiruaavinankudi', where the deity is known as 'Kuzhanthai Velayuthaswami' and was worshipped by Goddess Lakshmi ('Thiru' in Tamil), the sacred cow Kamadhenu ('Aa' in Tamil), the sun god Surya ('Inan' in both Tamil & Sanskrit), the earth goddess ('ku' in Tamil), and the fire god Agni ('Di' in Tamil), and has idols of all of them.

There is also a Murugan temple on the Palani hill top where 'Dhandayuthapani' is the main deity, in a meditating state, carrying a staff ('danda') as weapon ('ayutha') in his hands ('pani'). This is the place where Murugan resided after his feud with his family over a divine fruit. Here, the main deity is made out of an amalgam of nine minerals popularly called Navabashanam and was established by Saint Bhogar.

Pazhamudircholai Murugan Temple Pazhamudircholai, Madurai district Located on the outskirts of Madurai on a hillock with a holy stream nearby called "Nupura Gangai". Murugan is seen with both his consorts Deivanai and Valli.
Thirupparamkunram Murugan Temple Thiruparankunram, Madurai district Located on the outskirts of Madurai on a hillock where Kartikeyan married Indra's daughter Deivanai. Nakkeerar worshipped Murugan in this shrine and is said to have worshiped Lord Shiva here as Parangirinathar.
Thiruchendur Murugan Temple Thiruchendur, Toothukudi district Located on the sea-shore near Tuticorin amongst the remains of Gandhamadana Parvatam or Santhanamalai (Sandal Mountain). The temple commemorates the place where Murugan worshiped Shiva and won a decisive victory over demon Soorapadman.

Lord of the Regions

According to Tamil sangam literature five types of lands are seen, where Lord Muruga is the God of Mountainous Regions.

Region (Tamil) Region (English) Chief God
Kurinji Mountainous region Muruga[10]
Mullai Forest region Vishnu
Marutham Agricultural region Indra
Neithal Coastal region Varuna
Palai Desert region Kali

References

  1. ↑ http://www.lordmurugan.com/
  2. ↑ http://www.nriol.com/indianparents/lord-muruga.asp
  3. ↑ http://murugan.org/texts/murukatruppadai.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.kaumaram.com/thiru/thiru.html
  5. ↑ http://murugan.org/research/zvelebil.htm
  6. ↑ http://murugan.org/saivaneethi/kanda-puranam-1.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/12/stories/2010111259230200.htm
  8. ↑ http://www.kaumaram.com/
  9. ↑ http://www.sttemple.com/STT/english/murugan.asp
  10. ↑ http://www.sttemple.com/STT/english/murugan.asp

External links

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