Sri Subrahmanya Swami Devasthanam, Tiruchendur, South India
 

Śrī Subrahmanya Swāmi Devasthānam, Tiruchendur

Sri Subrahmanya Swami
Śrī Subrahmanya Swāmi, Tiruchendur

The seashore temple of Subrahmanyam at Tiruchendur is one of the delightful spots sanctified and venerated by every Hindu. As one of the first spiritual centres for the salvation of man, His shrine has been an attraction for Hindus for ages. This sacred house of God is in the extreme southwest of the Indian peninsula. The rising sun bows in adoration of it each morning as he rises from the rippling expanse of the ocean, and spreads light and life over every living object.

Bordered by the sea on the East and the North, the temple walls on these sides are washed by the foaming waves of the Gulf of Mannar. The date of the temple is hidden in the Puranic past. The nucleus of the structure however has been here for more than 2,000 years as the Tamil Classics inform us.

Lord Muruga's association with Tiruchendur is highly significant. It is described in extenso in His epic, the Skanda Puranam. The young Muruga as the Devasenāpati vanquishes evil in the form of Surapatuma. The Tamils have ever since been celebrating the event as an annual festival during Skanda Sasti.

Tiruchentil means as it does, the House of Victory. It borders the sea and has all the natural charm of a hero's fortress. It is verily a haven of Peace and Bliss. The Tamils in this part of the peninsula have such an attraction for the place and its presiding Lord Arumuga Nayinar.

An attempt is here made to give His bhaktas all over a close account of His shrine at Tiruchendur; and with this additional desire of impressing that the Temple is one worthy of a pilgrimage in this life. The divine inspiration and His grace that the bhakta is sure to secure will more than recompense his labours.