Tiruchendur Murugan Temple

Temple on the shore

Most of Murugan's six abodes stand on hills. Tiruchendur, the second abode, stands on the beach at the eastern end of the town in Thoothukudi district, its gateway tower rising straight out of the sand. Tirumurugatruppadai calls it Tirucheeralaivai, the shore of the rolling waves, and the 7th-century Shaiva poet Appar mentions it in his hymns.

The victory by the sea

The temple remembers Murugan as the victorious commander. According to the Kanda Puranam, he defeated the demon Surapadman here, splitting him into a peacock and a rooster, which became his mount and his banner. The six-day Kantha Sashti festival ends with Surasamharam, a re-enactment of the battle on the beach that draws enormous crowds. Pilgrims bathe in the sea and then at Nazhi Kinaru, a small spring-fed well just south of the temple.

Raided and restored

During their war with the Portuguese, the Dutch East India Company occupied the temple from 1646 to 1648. Local resistance and the Madurai Nayak ruler Thirumalai Nayak forced them out, but they carried off two festival images of Murugan, which were later recovered from the sea in 1653; paintings inside the temple tell the story. The nine-tiered rajagopuram, about 48 metres tall, dominates the coastline. The temple is administered by the HR&CE Department.