Thirumalaikeni Subramaniya Swamy Temple- Dindigul

Address

Thirumalaikeni, Sengurichi, Dindigul district,

TamilNadu 624306

Phone: +91-451 – 205 0260, 96268 21366

Moolavar

Subramaniya Swamy

Introduction

Tirumalaikeni Subramanya Swamy Murugan Temple is one of the oldest temples dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is located in the city of Thirumalaikeni, which lies in the Dingigul district of Tamil Nadu. Dedicated to Lord Murugan this temple is a very sacred one which also forms a famous religious spot in the state. The Temple is believed to be 1000 years old.

Puranic Significance

Long back there was a king who belonged to the Pandhya dynasty. He was a staunch supporter of Lord Muruga and always prayed to him. He wished to build a temple in honor of the lord however; he was unable to get any useful piece of land. One day he was hunting in the forest of Dindigul. Being thirsty he found a spring at one place and drank water from it. After consuming the water, the king fell asleep. A strange dream came to him where the Lord Murugan instructed him to build a temple on the very spot where he was lying. As soon as he got up he decided to build a temple which is today known as Tirumalaikeni Subramanya Swamy Murugan Temple. Lord Murugan is the presiding deity and the entire temple is dedicated to him.

Dressed as a king:

Lord Balamuruga in the upper temple always appears in His royal attire known as Raja Alankaram. It is the faith of the devotees that seeing the Lord in the Royal form would ensure high position and leadership in life. The consorts of Muruga, Valli and Deivanai are not by the side of the Lord but grace in the form of the holy springs. Valli Theertham is in the middle of the hill in the form of a well, hence the place is known as Malaikeni- a spring the hill.

Kil Palani:

Generally, devotees go up on the steps to have the darshan of the Lord in hill temples. Here, people step down to reach the Lord. Devotees call this temple Kilpalani (Palani downward). During the 7 day Skanda Sashti festival, Surasamharam (killing the demon Surapadma) takes place on the sixth day followed by Valli-Deivanai wedding festival on the seventh day.

Beliefs

Those aspire for prestigious and leadership positions in jobs pray to Lord Muruga in the temple. Also those facing problems in marriage alliances and seeking a child pray in the temple.

This is a two tier temple in the midst of dense forests. The idol of the presiding deity was damaged in days of yore and the temple too became dilapidated. Regular pujas came to an end. Sri Kripanandavariar took up the renovation of the temple in the year 1979. A new idol was made for the presiding deity. But the old idol could not be removed. Therefore, a Mandap was built where the old idol was installed while a temple above this was built installing the new idol. Thus, it became a two tier temple with deities installed in each. The two temples are constructed with high engineering skill that the water used for the abhishek of the Lord in the upper level will fall on the Lord in the Ground too through a hole specially made for the purpose. The Temple is believed to be more than 1000 years old.

Special Features

Lord Murugan is considered to be an all-powerful lord. People worship him to seek blessings while taking up responsibility of a leader or any other higher post. People also worship him to grant the wish of a happy and prosperous married life. A unique fact about this temple is that it is two -tier in nature. One temple is located atop the hill while the other one lies on the ground level. The idol which resides in the main temple cannot be removed by any power and hence for the purpose of renovation a new idol had to be developed which became the basis of these two temples. Further, the architecture and construction of the two temples is such that while performing pooja, the water that falls on the idol of the upper temple reaches the idol of the lower temple too. This speaks of the amazing engineering feats in those times.

Festivals

Chitra Poornima in the month of April-May, Vaikasi Visakam (May-June), Kruthika in Aadi (July-August) and Karthigai (November-December),Skanda Sashti in Iypasi ((October – November), Thirukarthigai (November-December) and Thai Poosam (January-February).

This has been extracted from,

https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com/2016/03/sri-subramaniaswamy-temple.html