Famous Temples in India

Religious Significance

Over 450 years ago, the founding guru of Thiruporur Adhinam Srimad Chidambara Swamy who was an ardent worshipper of "Madurai Meenakshi Amman" had a vision of the Goddess bidding him to build a temple for Lord Muruga at Thiruporur. This happened when the savant challenged the Goddess that he would not eat until she graced him with her vision. Many days passed and Chidambara swamy was almost in a coma. Suddenly he could hear the anklets of the Goddess Meenakshi and when he opened his eyes slightly, he got a magnificent glimpse of the divine feet. The Goddess then raised the swamy to his feet and as her hands touched him, his skin turned golden. She told him that six earlier attempts to establish the temple had failed. Chidambara swamy reached Thiruporur to find that it was a dense forest full of palm trees. He could hardly make out where the attempts to build the temple had been made.

When he had despaired of locating the site, Lord Muruga himself appeared as a small boy and gave him the vision of the sanctum sanctorum. Thereafter, Chidambara swamy unearthed the Swayambu Moortis of Lord Muruga with his consorts and established the temple. In those days, Thiruporur was one of the hamlets under the reign of a minor Muslim ruler. When the Muslim ruler's daughter was afflicted with a form of vertigo, his minister "the dubash" suggested that the ruler seek the blessings of the nearby Chidambara swamy as all other efforts to cure his young daughter had proved unfruitful. The Muslim ruler accepted the suggestion and prostrated, along with his daughter before Shri Chidambara swamy. When Sri Chidambara swamy applied the sacred ash to his daughter's body, she was cured instantly. The seafront where the Lord Muruga fought with the demons is known as Thiruchendur, the land front where the Lord put an end to the Asuras is known as Thiruparagundram. Likewise the Aghayamarg (Skies) where Lord Murugan fought the evil is hailed as Thiruporur as per the Puranas. Arunagirinathar, a 16th-century saint has glorified the temple in his work in Thirupugazh. He has mentioned that Arunagirinathar is the head of all Vedas, the sacred texts. Bala Devaraya has mentioned Kandhaswamy as "Samarapurivaazh Shanmugatharase" in his works in Kanda Shasti Kavasam.