Subramanyaswamy Temple, Thiruparankundram – Legends
Lord Murugan married Deivanai here:
As per
Hindu mythology, when Lord Subramanya was staying at Kanda Verpu, the two
daughters of Lord Maha Vishnu, Amrita Valli and Sundara Valli, cherished the
desire of becoming the consorts of Subramanya. With this aim in mind they both
went to Saravana Poigai and commenced austere penance to fulfill their desires.
Pleased with their prayer and worship, Lord Subramanya appeared before them and
told Amrita Valli, "You will be brought up by Indra as his daughter and I
shall marry you in due course." Her younger sister Sundara Valli was also
graced with a similar blessing. She was born to sage Siva Muni and brought up
by Nambi, the headman of Veddas.
Amrita
Valli took the form of a female child and went to Mount Meru, the abode of
Indra, and told him, "I am the daughter of Maha Vishnu and the responsibility
of looking after me has been entrusted to you." On hearing this, Indra
became very happy and directed Airavatam, his white elephant, to take care of
the child. The elephant with all love brought her up and affection and she
attained the age of marriage in course of time. Hence, she came to be known as Deivayanai,
one who was brought up by the heavenly elephant of Indra (Yanai in Tamil
means elephant).
The six
sons of sage Parasara were cursed to become fishes in the Saravana Poigai. On
request for redemption, these six boys were ordered to pray to Lord Subramanya.
When they got his darshan, they could get redemption. It was also made known to
them that Lord Subramanya would come to Tiruparankundram after vanquishing the
demon Surapadma. Anxiously they waited for the arrival of Subramanya. When the
mission of Subramanya to vanquish Surapadma was over at Thiruchendur, on
his way, he came to this spot followed by all the Devas and heavenly beings
that he had released from the untold miseries caused by Surapadma.
On his
arrival at Tiruparankundram, the sons of Parasara received Subramanya and, at
their request, he consented to stay there. He at once ordered Vishwakarma to
construct a beautiful abode for himself, for the Devas and for others. He also
suggested to the heavenly architect to build roads and erect a city around
them. Indra, the king of the angels, desired to get his daughter Deivayanai
married to Subramanya, as a mark of his gratitude for relieving him and the
Devas from the depredations of the demon Surapadma.
He
expressed his desire to Brahma and Vishnu who were present there. They were
only too glad to hear the proposal. When they communicated the desire of Indra
to Lord Subramanya he readily agreed to it and said: Deivayanai has been
praying at Saravana Poigai in the Himalayas for this happy marriage. Now the
time has come for its being solemnized. As Subramanya agreed to this marriage,
Indra sent a messenger to bring his wife Indrani and daughter Deivayanai from
Mount Meru.
The
marriage took place at Tiruparankundram, after the victory of Subramanya over
Surapadma. All arrangements for marriage were made and the marriage was
performed at the Tiruparankundram Temple. All the Devas, Siva and Parvati
attended the marriage and blessed Subramanya and Deivayanai. Since then, the
temple has become a very famous abode of Subramanya.
Aru Padai Veedu:
Tiruparankundram
is one of the six main pilgrimage sites (Aru Padai Veedu) for the devotion of
the son of Shiva – Muruga (also Subramanya), Tamil Hindu god of war and patron
of Tamilnadu.
Siddhar Bogar got relieved off his sins by Siddhar
Machamuneeswarar:
Siddhar
Bogar diverted his attention towards girls and was cursed by Shiva; later he
got relieved off his sins by Siddhar Machamuneeswarar after taking bath at the
water stream uphill.
Equivalent to Himalayas:
The hill
is considered equivalent to Himalayas since Shiva, Vishnu, Brahmma, Rishis, Devas,
Demons and everyone from the upper world came here to witness Muruga’s
marriage.
King Harichandra built this Temple:
According
to another tale, King Harichandra worshipped Shiva from this hillock and gained
eternal wisdom. Thus, he built a temple here - temple was complete with
Praharams (ambulatories), walls, Gopurams (gate towers) and steps.
Durga got relieved of Brahmahatti Dosha here:
Demon
Mahishasura was harassing the Devas in many ways. Mother Ambica took the form
of Navanayakis, fought with him and destroyed him on the ninth day. The killing
of the demon brought her the Brahmahatti Dosha. She worshipped Lord Shiva for
release from the sin. Lord advised her to worship him from here for result.
Ambica followed Lords advice and worshipped installing a Linga on the mount
which itself was but a Linga. Shiva granted darshan to Durga and relieved her
of the Dosha.
Param Kundra Nathar:
Supreme
Lord Shiva is in the form of a hill praised as Param Kundra Nathar
Association with Muslim Religion:
A
striking feature of this temple is that it is visited not only by Hindu
devotees but is also visited by those with other religious beliefs. A Muslim
shrine named Sikander is also located here. This shrine is also associated to
Lord Murugan according to some legends. It is popularly believed that Sikander
was a friend of Lord Muruga.
Lord Murugan penance performed penance here seeking
Lord’s pardon:
When
Lord Shiva was teaching Pranava Mantra to Mother Parvathi, Muruga being there,
also listened and learnt the Mantra. As it was against the rules, Muruga wished
to correct himself of the mistake, performed penance here seeking Lord’s
pardon. Lord Shiva graced his darshan to the Beloved Son on a Thaipoosam day.
Nine Soldiers:
When
Lord Shiva created Muruga from the sparks of his eye, unable to bear the heat,
Mother Parvathi ran from the place, when her anklet broke. From the pearls,
came nine Shaktis called Nava Kalis. These women loved Lord Shiva and became
pregnant. Knowing this, Parvathi cursed them to live with their pregnancy. The
Nava Kalis appealed to Lord Shiva for a remedy. Lord Shiva made a compromise
with Parvathi saying that they should deliver for the welfare of the world and
to help Lord Muruga in his war to kill demon Soorapadman. Parvathi agreed. They
delivered 9 male children named Veerabagu, Veerakesari, Veera Mahendran, Veera
Maheswaran, Veera Rakshan, Veera Marthandan, Veerandhagan, Veeradheeran and
Veera Suran. There is a separate shrine for these nine heroes in the front hall
– mandapam in the temple.
Association with Sangam Poet Nakkeerar:
Celebrated
Tamil poet laurate in Pandya’s court, Nakkeerar came to this sacred place to
perform penance for cleansing himself of the sin of arguing with Lord Shiva in
a contest. A leaf in the tank was partially of fish form and bird form
partially. As Nakkeerar saw this strange creature, his penance was disturbed. A
devil (Bhoodam) had already captured 999 such persons whose concentration was
disturbed during Shiva worship. The devil now took Nakkeerar its captive and
made the count to 1000 round. Poet Nakkeerar sang Tirumurugattrupadai in praise
of Lord Muruga to save all the prisoners of the devil.
This is
the invocation song in Pathu Pattu (10 songs) being the first section of the 18
works of Sangam literature edited as Pathinen Keezhkanakku. Lord Muruga
appeared before the poet, killed the devil, shattered the cave prison with his
Vel. The poet expressed his wish to have a dip in the Holy Ganga to wash of the
touch of the devil. Lord Muruga pounced on a rock with his Vel. Ganga sprang
up. Nakkeerar was happy. This spring, never going dry, is at the top of the
hill. The Panchakshara cave where Nakkeerar was locked up by the devil and
Saravana Poigai are near this shrine.
