Thanumalayan Temple, Suchindram – History
Suchindram
Temple is approximately 1,300 years old. The temple construction took place
over an extended period of at least six hundred years, so parts of the temple
date back to the late 8th century, while others are 15th century. The earliest
lithic records of Suchindram belong to the 9th Century A.D. The current temple
was built in the 17th century and is famous for its sculptures. It
was previously controlled by the Nambudiris, one of the main Nambudiri families called the
Thekkumon Madam. The main deity of the temple is Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and
Lord Brahma in a single form called Sthanumalayan. Thirumalai Nayak and
the Travancore Maharajas had made many endowments for its upkeep.
It is
interesting to note that during the reign of Aayilyam Thirunaal Maharajah of
Travancore, a lottery scheme was introduced in 1875 A.D., to raise funds for
rebuilding a portion of the temple and a sum of over Rs. 40,000 was realized. Up
until the time Kanyakumari became part of Tamil Nadu, the Suchindram Temple was
under the administration of the Travancore Kings. Travancore at that time had
its main temple at Padmanabhapuram, which was Vaishnavite. The Nanjil Pillais
and other community members in Nagercoil were primarily Shaivites, probably due
to influences from the Chola, Chera and Pandya kingdoms before the advent of
Travancore kingdom. One of the unique aspects of Suchindram Temple is the
presence of deities from all the religious sects: Vaishnava, Shaivite, and
local Tamil cults like Amman and Kandan.