Thiruporur Murugan Temple

Thiruporur is a small town located near Chennai, and Murugan temple in the town is one of the most famous temples of Lord Murugan (also known as Kartikeya or Subramanya) across the entire Tamil Nadu state.

As per the legend, this is the site where Subramanya fought his war against the Asuras and defeated them. Hence, the town is named as "Tiru Porur" (Porur means battlefield in the Tamil language).

Legend:

 Kartikeya led the Devas army and fought against the Asuras. He killed the main Asura named Soorapadman in Tiruchendur; then, he destroyed the rest of the Asuras at Thirupporur. As this was the battlefield, the site was named as Thiruporur. It is also called  Poriyur, Yuddhapuri or Samarapuri. All those words mean battlefield.

This site is special, not only to Skanda, but also to his father, Lord Shiva. When Vishnu and Lakshmi were subjected to the curse of the sage Kanva, they got rid of their curse by praying to Lord Shiva in this site. 

As per another legend, Kartikeya explained the Pranava mantra (hymn) to the sage Agastya in Thirupporur. He also explained the meaning of this holy mantra to the Devas here. The holy Pranava mantra worshiped Kartikeya in this site, and hence the hill behind the temple is called Pranava Malai (the word 'malai' means hill in the Tamil language).

Vishnu worshiped Shiva in this Pranava Malai, and even Skanda worshiped Shiva Linga known as Vanmeekeswarar in the same hill to get rid of the sin of having killed the Asura named Soorapadman.

History:

Historically, the original temple can be dated back to 1118-1133 CE (the king Vikrama Chola's period). As there are few Pallava inscriptions found in the temple, some date the original temple even to the Pallava period. The temple had lost importance in due course. 

Chidambara Swamigal, a saint, unearthed the idols from an anthill and rebuilt the temple with great difficulty in the middle of the 17th century CE. 

Temple Layout:

The vast east facing temple has a six-tiered Raja gopuram (tower).

Murugan is known as Kandaswamy in this temple. It is believed that the icons of  Kandaswamy and his consorts Valli and Devayani are swayambhu murtis (icons originated on their own). The east-facing sanctum sanctorum enshrine these swayambhu murtis for which abhishek is not performed. The festival (utsav) metal icons of Murugan, Valli and Devasena are also found in the main shrine.

Arunagirinathar through 'Tirupugal' and other poets such as Pamban Swamigal and Ramalinga Adigalar have revered this temple's deity through their songs.

The temple also enshrines Kartikeya in different forms, which cannot be usually seen in the other temples. The depiction of Skanda as a warrior (Samhara Subramanya) is a notable one. There is a sub-shrine where Kartikeya is found as a child.

The exterior wall around the main shrine has the niche images (Koshta idols) of Ganesha, Kukkuta dhwajar (Skanda with a flag of the rooster), Dandayudhapani, Vishnu and Durga.

The temple has a 30 pillared circular hall and another 24 pillared hall with full of sculptures.

There is a sub-shrine enshrining the Panchaloha idols of many deities such as Ganesha, Somaskanda, Chandrasekhara, Brahma, Vishnu, Devendra, Nandi, and importantly, the copper idol of Kartikeya revealing the meaning of Pranava mantra to his father's ears by sitting on his lap.

There are separate shrines for Ganesha and Durga. The outer walls of the shrine of Durga have the niche images of four Goddesses.

Saravana Poigai and Pranavamritam are the holy tirthas (water bodies) of the site. The Saravana Poigai tank is huge and attractive, and it is one of the highlights of the temple.

Happy travelling.

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