Six Abodes of Murugan

Six Abodes of Murugan
Arupadaiveedu
Painting of Murugan, c. 1930. Thiruparankundram Tiruchendur Palani Swamimalai Tiruttani Pazhamudircholai class=notpageimage| The Six Temples' location in Tamil Nadu
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
Deity	Murugan (Kartikeya)
Festivals	Surasamharam Thaipusam Karthikai Deepam Panguni Uthiram Vaikasi Vishakam Maha Shivaratri
Location
Location	Thiruparankundram, Tiruchendur, Palani, Swamimalai, Tiruttani, Pazhamudircholai
State	Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Architecture
Type	Tamil architecture
Temple(s)	6

The Six Abodes of Murugan (Tamil: ஆறுபடைவீடுகள், romanized: Āṟupadai veedu) are six temples situated in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India, dedicated to the Hindu deity Murugan, also referred to as Kandaswamy, Kartikeya, Skanda, and Vadivela at various temples. These six sacred abodes of Murugan are mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature, Thirumurugatrupadai, written by Nakkeerar and in Tiruppugaḻ, written by Arunagirinathar. The six abodes are Thiruparankundram, Tiruchendur, Palani, Swamimalai, Tiruttani, and Pazhamudircholai.

Legend

The legend of Murugan is described in the Kanda Puranam, the Tamil iteration of the Skanda Purana. According to the text, the asura Surapadman drove the devas out of Svarga, and the latter sought the assistance of the deities Vishnu and Brahma. They assigned Kamadeva to disturb Shiva from his penance and fall in love with Parvati, and the couple later gave birth to Murugan. Murugan is anointed as the commander of the devas, and went on to slay Surapadman in battle, restoring Svarga to the devas. Murugan married the goddesses Valli and Devasena after the war, an event that is regarded to have occurred at Tiruchendur.^[1]

In Tamil literature, five types of land are explained. These are the Kurinji (mountainous region), Mullai (forest region), Marutham (agricultural region), Neithal (coastal region) and Palai (desert region). Various deities are designated as the patron gods of these regions in Sangam literature. According to these texts, Murugan is the deity of the Kurinji region.^[2]

Religious importance

Arunagirinathar was a 15th-century Tamil poet born in Tiruvannamalai. According to regional tradition, 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, but was saved by the grace of god Murugan.^[3] He became a staunch devotee and composed Tamil hymns glorifying Murugan, the most notable being Tiruppugaḻ.^[4][5] Arunagirinathar visited various Murugan temples and on his way back to Tiruvannamalai, visited Palani and sung praises about Swaminathaswamy.^[6] Tiruparamkundram is considered the first of the six abodes. This is the only temple where the abhishekam is performed for the divine spear called vel instead of Murugan.^[7] Palani is considered the most prominent abodes of Murugan.^[8]

Practices

One of the main traditions of the six temples, is the tonsuring of devotees, who vow to discard their hair in imitation of the Palani deity. Another is the anointing of the head of the presiding deity's idol with sandalwood paste, at night, prior to the temple being closed for the day. The paste, upon being allowed to stay overnight, is said to acquire medicinal properties, and is much sought after and distributed to devotees, as rakkāla chandaṇam.^[9] A commonly followed worship practice involves devotees wearing ochre clothes and carrying a kavadi, an ornamental mount decked with flowers, glazed paper, and tinsel work, on foot for long distances.^[10]

List

Temple	Original name	Location	Picture	Description
Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Thiruparankundram	Tenparangunram தென்பரங்குன்றம் Teṉparaṅkuṉṟam	Thiruparankundram, Madurai district		Located on the outskirts of Madurai on a hillock where Murugan is said to have married Indra's adopted daughter, Devasena. Nakkeerar is regarded to have worshipped Murugan in this shrine and is said to have worshipped Shiva here as Parangirinathar. This is the first of the Arupadaiveedu.
Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Tiruchendur	Trichiralaiwai திருச்சீரலைவாய் Tiruccīralaivāy	Tiruchendur, Thoothukudi district		Located on the seashore near Thoothukudi amongst the remains of Gandhamadana Parvatam or Santhanamalai (Sandal Mountain). The temple commemorates the place where Murugan won a decisive victory over the asura Surapadman by worshipping Shiva.
Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani	Tiruvavinankudi திருவாவினன்குடி Tiruvāviṉaṉkuṭi	Palani, Dindigul district		Located in Dindigul District, on the Palani hill bottom ( Malai Adivaram ) called 'Thiruaavinankudi', where the deity is known as 'Kulanthai Velayuthaswami' and is said to have been worshipped by the goddess Lakshmi ('Thiru' in Tamil), owner of cows ('Aavinan' in Tamil), living place ('kudi' in Tamil). 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 a weapon ('ayudha') in his hands ('pani'). This is the place where Murugan is said to have resided after his feud with his family over a divine fruit.
Arulmigu Swaminatha Swamy Temple, Swamimalai	Thiruveragam திருவேரகம் Tiruvērakam	Swamimalai, Thanjavur district		Located at 5 km from Kumbakonam, the temple is built on an artificial hill. The temple commemorates the incident where Muruga is regarded to have explained the essence of the pranava mantra "Om" to his father Shiva.
Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Tiruttani	Kundrottal குன்றுதோறாடல் Kuṉṟutōṟāṭal	Tiruttani, Thiruvallur district		Located near Chennai, Murugan is said to have reclaimed his inner peace after waging a war with the asuras and married Valli here.
Arulmigu Solaimalai Murugan Temple, Pazhamudircholai	Solaimalai சோலைமலை Cōlaimalai	Pazhamudircholai, Madurai district		Located on the outskirts of Madurai on a hillock with a holy stream nearby called "Nupura Gangai". Murugan is seen here with both his consorts, Devasena and Valli.

References