THANUMALAYANTEMPLE, SUCHEENDRAM, KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT- TAMILNADU-COMPILED Dear friends,
Today my posting is about The Thanumalayan Temple, also knownas Sthanu Malaya Swamy Temple, is located in Suchindram, in the Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu The templeis just about 5 KMs from Nagerkovil in the NH to Kanyakumari. It is asignificant temple dedicated to the Trimurti, representing the three deitiesShiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. The temple is known for its Dravidian architecture,particularly its musical pillars and the towering 11-story gopuram and Anjaneya. Specialty with the temple is the priest who do last pooja andclose the sanctum, never opens the sanctum the next day. It is believed,Lord Indra comes in the temple,perform pooja in the night, and cleans the sanctum. I have visited the temple many times while working as SGJunior Engineer, Telecom at Nagerkovil and after retirement on temple visits. Hope a divine reading. Gopalakrishnan 20-07-2025. More detailed look atthe temple: Deities: The temple is dedicated to the combined form of Shiva,Vishnu, and Brahma, known as Thanumalayan. Architecture: It showcases a blend of Chola, Travancore(Kerala) , and Nayakarchitectural styles, with expansions and renovations occurring over centuries. Musical Pillars: The temple is famous for its four 18-foot-tall musicalpillars in the Alankara Mandapam. These pillars, carved from single granitestones, produce different musical notes when tapped. Gopuram: The eastern gopuram, one of the temple's two gateway towers,is an 11-story structure, standing at 144 feet (44 meters) tall. Hanuman Statue: A prominent feature is the 22-foot-tall Hanuman (Anjaneya)statue, also carved from a single granite block. History: The original structure dates back to the 9th century during the Choladynasty, with later additions and expansions attributed to Thirumalai Nayak andthe Travancore kings. Location: The temple is situated in Suchindram, approximately 11 kmfrom Kanyakumari towards Nagerkovil in the NH and about 5 KM towardsKanyakumari from Nagerkovil. Religious Significance: It is considered an Abhimana Kshetram in Vaishnavitetradition and one of the 108 Shiva Temples revered in Kerala Hindu culture,despite its current location in Tamil Nadu. Rituals and Festivals: The temple conducts six daily rituals and hosts numerousyearly festivals, including a prominent one during the Tamil month of Margazhi. Interestingly though priests in Nagerkovil and Kanyakumaritemples are Nampoothiries from Kerala, Sucheendram temple has Tamilnadu Gurukkals as priests in thistemple. Introduction What a marvel it is – a living tribute to the gloriousDravidian architectural style; a holy place of worship, yet a whole newexperience of beauty. Thanumalayan Temple in Suchindram stands out for itsamazing architectural elegance and divinity. South Indian temples are renowned for their architecturalpeculiarities and unique structures. Constructed in strict adherence toDravidian architecture, these temples emanate a marvellous charm that is trulyunmatched. One such visual feast is the divine Thanumalayan Temple, popularlyknown as the Suchindram Temple. Located at Suchindram in the Kanniyakumaridistrict, this ancient and majestic temple never ceases to amaze with itsgrandeur and splendour. Legends about Suchindram Temple. There are many legends behind Suchindram Temple. According to one of the popularstory of the Suchindram Temple, one day the holy Trinity, Lord Shiva,Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu arrived here at the ancient temple. Devi Anusaya,who is wife of saint Atri lived here. Trinity, decided to test Anusaya’s chasteto sage Atri. Hence, in the absence of Sage Atri, they went to Anusaya, achaste woman, in the guise of three sages and asked for food. However, when offered food theyrefused stating that they have vowed to take offerings only from people who arenot clothed. As it was considered as sin to refuse a help of offering toseeker, she decided to offer them food and fulfil their demand. She sprinkled holy water on all the three sages and turned into babies;Shiva as Durvasa, Vishnu as Dattatreya and Brahma as Chandra. It was then shefulfilled their demands and fed all the three babies. Seeing this, GoddessSaraswati, Goddess Parvati and Goddess Lakshmi came down and asked to returntheir husband in their original form. All the three Gods were turned into theiroriginal form after this. While leaving for their holy abode, the Trimurthies, on the request of Anusaya,manifested as Swayambhu Lingas, under the Amla tree, known as Sthala Vriksham,which is now more than 2500 years old. A small shrine, has been constructed infront of this holy tree. There is another legendthat connects this temple and the town to the Devi Kanyakumari Temple. As per the legend, Lord Shiva hasstayed in Suchindram when he had come to marry Kumari Kanyakumari. He started from here for thewedding that was scheduled to be at an auspicious time in night. It was when hereached Vazhukkamparai, which is around 5 km away from Suchindram, Sage Narada guised as rooster has falsely crowed to indicate the onsetof morning. Believing that the auspicious moment has passed, Lord Shivahas returned to Suchindram without marrying the Devi. Another story of Suchindram Temple is about the decade oldritual that was practiced at the temple. The practice of Agnipariksha wasperformed at the temple till 1860s until it was banned by the government. Asper the ritual, any Brahmin or priest, when suspected of any unacceptablebehavior, was required to go through a ritual. With the permission of the King,the suspected person was required to dip his hand in the boiling ghee that waskept in copper vessel and take out the silver ox which was kept inside. Hishand was then covered in a cloth and bandaged. If the Brahmin’s hand comes out unscathed on the third day,he is proven innocent. Another legend is relatedto pretending Indra as sage Gauthama. Indra had an eye on Ahalaya wife of the sage. One day whilesage Gauthama went for morning bath and austerities, Indra approached Ahalayain the form of sage Gauthama . Feelingsomething rotten, Gauthama immediately returned, found Indra in his form withAhalaya. Sage cursed him to have female sex organ through out his body, onregretting, he was asked to perform pooja and clean sanctum at Sucheendramtemple every day. It continues even today. Since Indra cleans the sanctum, thetemple got the name Sucheendram. On this account, the priest performing nightpooja does not open the temple in the morning History Suchindram is one among the 108 Siva temples revered byHindus in Kerala. Before the Kanniyakumari district was merged with Tamil Nadu,the temple and the surroundings were a part of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore. Theoriginal structure of the building was built around the 9th century by theChola dynasty. Later expansions were made by Thirumalai Nayak and the kings ofTravancore. The ancient Suchindram Temple is said to be built in 17thCentury. However, a few part of the temple can be traced back to 8th century to15th Century. The inscriptions of the temple dates back to 9th Century. Before the merger of Kanyakumari in the Tamilnadu State,Suchindram Temple came under the administration of Travancore Kingdom. The main temple of Travancorekingdom was at Padmanabhapuram. This temple is Vaishnavite. While inNagercoil which was earlier under the control of Cholas, Chera and PandyaReign, most of the residents were Shaivites. Hence, this temple presents a beautiful site where bothLord Shiva and Lord Vishnu as well as Lord Brahma is worshipped. Suchindram Temple is approximately 1,300 years old. Thetemple construction took place over an extended period of at least six hundredyears, so parts of the temple date back to the late 8th century, while othersare 15th century. The earliest lithic records of Suchindram belong to the 9thCentury A.D. The worship at this temple is taken care of by the familiesof Namboodiri Brahmins earlier. Architecture The temple complex is spread across 2 acres and has twotowers called ‘Gopurams’ that are gateways. The eastern tower has 11 storiesand is 44 metres tall. Thereare 30 shrines within the temple. The architecture of the temple is unique in that it includesboth Kerala and Tamil architectural styles. The amazing works in stone spreadthrough the temple gives the complex an amazing look. One of the mostfascinating features of the temple are four musical pillars carved out of asingle stone. There is also a dancing hall with 1035 intricately carvedpillars. One of the important feature observed by me is there is no hard soil around the temple, andonly tiny sanded. Temple is no where near the sea. Chief Deity A unique aspect about worship in this temple is that it isdedicated to the trinity of Lords Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma; and thus is a placeof great religious significance to Hindus. The presiding deity, Sthanu (Lord Shiva), Mal (Lord Vishnu) and Aya (Lord Brahma)are in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Sub deities By the side of sanctum sanctorum, there is a shrine for LordVishnu; the idol of the Lord has been made by combining eight different kindsof metals. On to the right side, there is shrine of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita, while on the leftside is the shrine of LordGanesha. On the front, there is Navagraha mandapa. There are around 30 shrines in this temple including of thoseof Kailasanathar, Nataka Sala, Vadakkedam, Kailasattu Mahadeva, PanchaPandavar, Kontai Adi, Guru Dakshinamurthy, Cheravasal Sastha, Lord Muruga,Garuda, Subramania Swamy , Anjaneya and many more. The massive idol of Lord Hanuman at a height of 22 feet is sure to allure everydevotee here. The statue has been carved out of single granite rock. This stateof Lord Hanuman, which is one of the largest statues in India, was kept hiddenin the temple as attacks from Tipu Sultan were feared. Later in the year of1930, it was found and was subsequently restored to its previous glory. Another striking aspect is the carving of Vinayaki (Female Vinayaka) inthe temple. Majestic Image of Nandi, vehicle of Lord Shiva is alsocaptivating with a height of 13 feet and length of 21 feet and width of 10feet. Daily poojas Abhishekam is being performed thrice a day in this temple. Admidst regular poojas, there are special poojas performed to the God andGoddesses. Abisekam for Moola lingam at 4.15 a.m Abisekam for Thanumalayan Shrine at 4.45 a.m Daily festival Pooja at 5.30 a.m Tharai Abisekam at 6.30 a.m.MistangaPooja at 7.00 a.m Uchikkala Poojai, Deepa Aradhanai at 11.00 a.m Deepa Aradhanai, Ahala Poojai & Arthajama poojai at 6.30p.m Festivals The most popular festival of Suchindram Temple is the 10-daylong car festival which is celebrated during the month of December or January.Other prominent festivals of the temple are Avani Festival in the month ofaugust, Chithirai Festival in the month of April and Masi Festival in Marchmonth. Timings of SuchindramTemple The darshan timings of Suchindram Temple are from 4.30 to11.30 in morning. The temple again opens for darshan in evening at 5 PM andcloses at 8.30 PM. Unique feature of thetemple The unique feature of the Suchindrum temple is that both Saivites and Vaishnavites hold thetemple in the high esteem. The shrines within, which are thirty innumber. The sanctum sanctorum presenting a Shivalinga, the Thekkadam presentingthe image of Lord Vishnu (human form), the Konnayadi presenting the three swayambhulingas at the foot of an old tree (nature worship), the holy sanctum of Chitrasabha presenting a mirror (formless aspect of self-realisation) and many othersmaller shrines presenting almost all the deities of Hindu. Lord Dattatreya: We can have the darshan of Lord Dattatreya in the hollow atthe foot of the tree, where three lingas sprout one above the other. This canbe seen only at the time of abhisheka in the morning (4.00 a.m.) and they areusually hidden in the a golden kavacha in the day hours. The branches of theKonnai (laurel) tree are also seen at the top of the shrine Wishes full- filled If an unmarried person visits Kanyakumari devi and SuchindrumTrimoorhty in a single trip, their marriage will be settled at the earliest.Thus this sacred shrine leaves indelible impressions in the minds of thevisitors and no tourist fails to carry sweet memories on his exit from thisshrine. Temple chariot The chariot is made of wood and is carved with beautifullydetailed sculptures, many of which feature the pastimes of Krishna and Rama leela. Each year,the upper portion of the car is remade with fresh poles and fabrics, and takenout on procession. How to reach thetemple Suchindram Temple is located at a distance of 11 km fromKanyakumari and can be reached via road easily. It is around 7km away fromNagercoil. There are regular buses to Suchindram from Nagerkovil and Kanyakumari as well as from Tirunelveli andTrivandrum. Tourists canalso hire a taxi and visit the temple from Kanyakumari. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/749942246.732283.1752996780988%40mail.yahoo.com.
