Lord Murugan
We must have to consider that Lord Muruga is everything in our life. Lord Muruga is the beloved son of Parvati and Parameswara, brother of the first god, Vinayaka, and he also contains great powers similar to his parents. In the Muruga Purana, it was mentioned, that the entire universe was found in the two eyes of Lord Muruga, and the significance of Lord Muruga was sung by his staunch devotees like Arunagiri Nathar and Pamban Swamigal.
The Kaumaram Sect of people who mostly lives in Tamil Nadu are considered as ardent devotees of Lord Muruga, and they consider Lord Murugan as superior than that of his parents Lord Shiva and Ma Shakti. Murugan is mainly worshipped by the people in Tamil Nadu, and also he is worshipped by the Tamil people in Malaysia, Singapore and Srilanka.
Apart from the six main abodes of Lord Muruga, there are also 21 popular temple shrines of Lord Muruga, which are also considered as the temples which grants salvation to the devotees, are situated at the following places, which are as follows:-
1. Azaghumalai Murugan Temple, Tiruppur. In this temple, Lord Murugan dwells in a small mountain, which contains about 300 steps.
2. Aandar Kuppam Murugan Temple, Ponneri. This temple is surrounded with full of natural scenery and greenery, which adds more beauty to this temple, and in this temple, Lord Muruga gives abundant blessings to the devotees, and he appears with one head and two hands.
3. Ayikudi Balasubramanya Swamy Temple, Thirunelveli District. Here Lord Muruga appears in child form, and his name is “SRI BALA KUMARA SWAMY”.
4. Aanur Murugan Temple, located near Chenglepet. Though the size of this size is small, but the significance of this temple is big.
5. Ilanchi Kumarar Temple, Located near Thenkasi. Here Lord Murugan appears with his two consorts, Ma Valli and Ma Devasena.
6. Ratnagiri Murugan Temple, Located near Vellore. Wonderful temple of Lord Muruga. One Divine spear is also installed before the main shrine. Aadi Kritigai Festival is grandly celebrated at this temple.
7. Sri Balamurugan Temple, Reddipatti. Here Lord Muruga dwells in Mountain, and he looks very beautiful, and he steals the hearts of those devotees who visits him at this temple.
8. Sri Subramanya Swamy Temple, Elangunna Puzha, Ernakulam. This is one of the popular temples in Kerala. Before few centuries, a woman Muruga devotee was first the idol of Lord Muruga, and initially she has considered it as an ordinary stone, but afterwards, she has realized the importance of the stone, built a temple for Lord Muruga, and in course of time, the name and fame of Lord Muruga had been popularized in the nearby places also.
9. Indra Sailathri, Vijayawada. This temple contains about 200 steps, and the idol located in the main shrine is believed to be a self-emanated one.
10. Balasubramanya Swamy Temple, Elaiyanar Vellore, located near Kanchipuram. The significance of this temple was mentioned in the Puranas.
11. Sri Balasubramanya Swamy Temple, Utiramerur. In this temple, Lord Muruga appears in child form, and he contains one head with four arms.
12. Sri Subramanya Swamy Temple, Udayanapuram, Ernakulam. This is one of the popular temples in Kerala, and this temple was built by following the Kerala Style.
13. Sri Subramanya Swamy Temple, Ullore, Trivandrum. Thaipoosam festival is grandly celebrated at this temple.
14. Sri Dandapani Swamy Temple, Oodhimalai, Kangeyam. In this mountain temple, separate shrines are dedicated to Ma Valli and Devasena, and a separate shrine is also dedicated to Sri Konkanna Siddhar, who is one of the famous 18 Siddhars.
15. Sri Ettikudi Murugan Temple, Ettikudi, Tiruturaipoondi. Here Lord Muruga contains twelve hands, he appears with his consorts Ma Valli and Devasena and he is seen seated in his divine peacock, and if we closely watch his face, we can witness the divine light which flows on his face.
16. Sri Murugan Temple, Enkan, Muganthanur. Recently I have visited this temple. Here Lord Muruga appears with smiling face, and he can be seen seated on his divine peacock. Excellent temple of Lord Muruga.
17. Sri Murugan Temple, Elathur, Tiruvannamalai. This is a mountain temple. Here Lord Muruga is called as “SRI SIVASUBRAMANYA SWAMY”, in order to establish to the world, that both Lord Shiva and Muruga are one and the same.
18. Sri Murugan Temple, Otrai Kannore, Pudupettai. As per the opinions of historians, this temple is considered to be the first temple of Lord Muruga.
19. Sri Kadirkamam Murugan Temple, Srilanka. This temple was praised by Sri Arunagirinathar. This temple is situated in a beautiful location amidst green trees.
20. Sri Kandakottam Murugan Temple, Parrys, Chennai. Here Lord Muruga is worshipped as Sri Muthukumaraswamy and he appears along with his consorts Ma Valli and Ma Devasena.
21. Sri Kandankudi Murugan Temple, Mayavaram. During ancient times, this place was a dense forest. In course of time, this place had been converted into a Murugan Temple, and even in ancient Puranas, the significance of this temple was mentioned.
“OM SARAVANA BHAVA”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR