Thiruvidaikkazhi – A Temple with Two Main deities

There is a well-known saying in Tamil “Kundrirukkum Idamellam Kumaran Irupan”, which means that wherever you see a Hillock or Mound, you can see Lord Murugan there. But you can also say “Wherever you see a KURA tree, there also you can see the Lord Muruga” (means KURA maram irukkum Idamum Kumaran Irukkum Idame). Yes!! As the saying goes, we are now going to know about one such Murugan temple that has its own uniqueness.

Sri Papavimochana Shiva Peruman and Sri Bala Subramaniya Swamy Temple is located in a place called Thiruvidaikkazhi. Thiruvidaikkazhi or Thirukuravadi is a village that is near Thillaiyadi, Thirukkadaiyur in Nagapattinam district, Tamilnadu. The temple is located around 6Kms from Thirukkadaiyur.

Normally, any temple will have one main God that can be seen in the main Sannidhi or the Garbhagriha.  But the unique thing about this temple is that both Lord Shiva and Lord Muruga are found in the same Garbhagriha. They both are considered as the main Deity of this temple.

According to the Sthala Puranam, after killing Surapadman in Thiruchendur, the Lord Bala Subramaniya (Muruga) killed Surapadman’s son, Hiranyasuran in this Sthala. After the massacre, Lord Muruga offered his prayers to Lord Shiva (Papavimochana Nathar) to wash away his sins and to get the blessings of his father. After being impressed by the prayers of Lord Muruga, Lord Shiva appeared and he blessed his son. He also made his Son to stand in the front, as he took a position that is slightly behind. So, when you visit the temple, you can notice that in the main Sannidhi (Garbhagriha), the 6 feet tall Murugan Idol will be in the front and the Lord Shiva’s will be behind, slightly towards the Northwest facing in east direction. You can also see a small sized Spatika Lingam in front of Lord Muruga.

Another sthala purana of this temple is that, this is believed to be the place where Devaiyani was betrothed to Lord Muruga. In a way of emphasizing this, you can notice that the idol of Devaiyani in her sannidhi will seem to be slightly tilted towards the direction of Lord Muruga.(Obviously of Shyness !!)Also, if you keenly observe the Gopuram of the temple, you can notice that it illustrates many of the stories from Kanda Puranam.

Another interesting feature of this temple is the Dwajasthambam. We all know that, normally an idol of Lord Vinayaka will be present at the base of any Dwajasthamba. But here, you can see both Lord Muruga and Lord Vinayaka seated next each other.( Happy Brotherhood !!) J

The temple Sthala Vruksham or the sacred Tree is Kura Maram or Kura Tree (Webera corymbosa, Bottle brush tree). It is said that the leaves of this tree acts as an antidote for snakebite and other Venomous stings. Also, according to the local people and the priests, it is believed that if a woman ties a cradle in the trunk of the tree, she will be blessed with a child. This custom is still followed.

Note: This temple is a Rahu, Kethu and Sevvai parihara sthalam.