Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, Tiruchendur

Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, also known as Tiruchendur Murugan Temple is the second of the six Arupadai Veedu, dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is situated in the Tiruchendur town of Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu. According to Hindu Purana, the temple was earlier known as Jayanthipuram, being the fourth Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu to get ISO certification. Tamil literature describes the meaning of Tiruchendur as a sacred and beautiful town.

Situated on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, there is a tower gate locally known as Gopuram. Mela Gopuram, the tallest among all is a nine-tier tower gate that is 157 feet high. To indicate these nine storeys, there are nine Kalashas at the top of Gopuram. The principal entrance faces south and opens into the first of two prakarams, the first of which is lined with rows of Yalis. Usually, the Raja Gopuram is on the eastern side of temples in Tamil Nadu, but in Tiruchendur alone the Raja Gopuram is on the western side. It is said that the Raja Gopuram was not erected on the eastern side since the sea is very close to it.

According to Hindu Ithihas, Lord Murugan – the god of war and second son of Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati came to Tiruchendur with his army for conquest. On finding the town to be very small, he ordered the celestial architect Vishwakarma to expand it. Following this, the town came to be known as Tiruchendil, Jayanthipuram, Thiruchilavay and Srisandhinagaram. Lord Murugan defeated the asura, Surapadma following which Lord Murugan was named Jayanthinathar, meaning the victorious leader.

Being one of the shrines of the Vaippu Sthalams, Lord Shiva is the other deity worshipped here. According to Ithihas, it is believed that the demigods of Murugan wanted to worship him in a place having a mountainous tract, sea and river and hence Tiruchendur was chosen. There are 2 Utsava Murthis here namely, Jayanthi Nathar whose Abhishekham is done every day when it comes out and another one being Shanmukhar who comes out only during Maasi and Aavani festival. Abhishekam of this murthi is performed during this period. Devotees undergo a ritual cleansing by bathing in water from the sacred well called Naazhi Kinaru fed by a freshwater spring, located 100m south of the temple. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.