Thiruchendur Murugan
date
Jun 13, 2024
slug
thiruchendur
status
Published
tags
mythology
summary
a good bedtime story.
type
Post
Not one for myths and all powerful beings, but Murugan is an exception. This isn't personal opinion, a lot of people in the south of India believe in him, and a lot more - only in him.
Murugan, the god of war in Tamil culture, is said to be the younger son of Lord Shiva. Fought with his brother, Ganesh and his parents, left Kailasam in anger to his own “Kunru” or hill. Hes said to have six homes or abodes in Tamilnadu. Because he’s on hills, Tamil literature says he's the deity of the Kurinji or the mountainous regions.
Thiruchendur is the second and the southern-most abode.
The story goes like this. The Dutch East India Company occupied Thiruchendur temple from 1646-1648, held fort in the temple during their battle with the Portuguese. Obviously, the locals did not like it and there were always protests for them to leave the temple. Never worked though. And then the king of the Nayak dynasty, presumably Tirumalai Nayakar - who was in power during that time, ordered for the Dutch to leave the temple.
The Dutch could only follow the orders and leave the temple. However, out of spite, they decide to rob the temple of the statue of it’s main deity Murugan, which they did by hacking it away from its place. The plan was to take it with them to their settlement in Srilanka or Ceylon, as it was called back then. This was in the south of Srilanka and the travel had to be made over sea.
The statue of the deity along with the Dutch were on a ship on their way to Galle, Srilanka. This is where it gets paranormal. The typically short trip to Galle was met with intense storms and waves, unusual to this route. Rumour spreads on the ship that the storm was because of stealing the statue, which I’m sure felt plausible at that time. They decide to drop it in the middle of the sea, which they did. The storm and the harsh waves clear and they make it to their destination.
The statue now lies under the sea. People of Thiruchendur don’t have anyone to pray to.
Years later, Vadamaliyappa Pillai, a staunch devotee of Murugan is said to have dreamt about Murugan and that he, and only he can retrieve the statue that’s been not in place for all these years. He goes around gathering a crew, gets the support of the King and sets sail. He’s said to have exactly pointed at the location where the statue was present. People from his crew dive and indeed find the statue, which is soon reinstated in the temple.
This story is inscribed on the walls of the temple, along with the names and the period of this incident. Now, it is very obvious that there is some sort of exaggeration in this story but I think that’s what makes the story more interesting, specially when you consider that Murugan is a regional deity and it sort of implies the deep-rooted belief and enduring devotion of the locals towards Murugan. This goes beyond the mere realm of religious observance and enters the domain of cultural identity, bringing into focus the multifaceted role Murugan plays in the lives of the people. The deity is not just an entity they worship, but a symbol of their history, their struggles, their victories, and their sense of community.