Thirupudaimarudur

Saivite Temples, Tirunelveli District

God

Narumpoonathar, facing east

Goddess

Gomathi Ambal, facing east

Other Deities

Outer Prakaram – Navagraha, Dwara Ganapathi, Dwara Subramanian, Pancha Lingam, Easana Lingam, Naagar, Kanni Lingam, Vayu Lingam, Vinayaka, Murugan. Inner Prakaram – Vinayaka, Muruga, Suryan, Adhikara Nandi, 63 Nayanmar, Jura Devar, Saptha Maadhar, Thiruthaya Lingam (3), Kasi Viswanathar, Visalakshi, Rameswara Lingam, Chathurva Lingam, 4 small lingams, Ganapathi, Subramanya with consorts, Saneeswarar, Sahasra Lingam, Saraswathi, Nataraja, Sivakami, Chandran. Sanctum Niches of main deity – Yoga Dakshinamurthy, Mahavishnu, Mahalakshmi, Brahma, Durga, Chandikeswara

Thirupudaimarudur is a large temple with 3 Prakarams. The entrance is through a large unfinished stone Gopuram. This gopuram has many wonderful sculptures and has multiple floors visible as you walk through it. This is followed by the outermost Prakaram which is filled with beautiful trees and along with the adjacent Theppakulam and the surrounding area has been declared as a Bird Sanctuary. The sanctuary attracts many birds including Painted storks, Ibis, Cormorants, Darters, Egrets, Herons, and more. The Tamiraparani river running behind the temple contributes to the beauty and faunal wealth of this grand old temple. The next Gopuram that follows is a wonderful 5 tiered structure. The huge wooden doors of this gopuram have many carvings of performing artists. Crossing this gopuram you enter into the next Prakaram which is also filled with trees and has several shrines as listed above in the other deities section (outer Prakaram). After crossing the Balipeedam, Nandi, and Flagstaff you enter the inner Prakaram. This has a huge Maha Mantapam with a lot of excellent pillars and sculptures. The sanctum sanctorum of the main deity has a circumambulatory pathway with all the idols and shrines listed in the inner Prakaram. The Goddess shrine is a separate east facing structure inside this Prakaram. Both of them share the Mahamantapam but have their own Mantapas, Ardha Mantapa, and Antralaya that leads into the innermost sanctum sanctorum. This is one of the Pancha Dakshinamurthy temples, the others are Andhalanallur, Harikesavanallur, Then Thirupovanam, and Idaikkal. The Nataraja and the idols in his shrine are all impregnated with a substance called Punagu, musk secreted from the glands of the Civet Cat. There are tombs of Siddhdhars inside the temple at Thirupudaimarudur. Behind the temple on the banks of the Tamiraparani River are steps leading down to the river and is the Pushkaram venue. Above the steps on the road is the shrine dedicated to the Marudam Tree from which the Lord is believed to have appeared. Adjoining this is a shrine for Vinayaka. The serene beauty of this area and the temple is excellent.

Holy Water (Theertham) – Surendra Motcha Theertham, Muni Theertham

Sacred Tree (Sthala Vriksham) – Marudam (Terminalia arjuna)

History

Thirupudaimarudur is an ancient temple. There are many inscriptions found in this temple. The details of the same will be updated soon.

Legend

The Lord at Thirupudaimarudur is believed to have appeared from the Marudam Tree which is enshrined behind the temple on the banks of the Tamiraparani River. Pained by the destruction of the Asuras in the hands of the Devas the father of the Asura King Viswaroopan approached Sage Duvashta and incited him to anger by narrating the events. He undertook sacrifices and out of that emerged a terrible Asura called Viruthran who received several boons and became invincible. Lord Indra approached Sage Dadheesi who gave up his spine to create a weapon that destructed the Asura. By killing Viruthran who emerged from the sacrificial rituals of a sage, Indra incurred a curse (Brahmahathi Dosham) and was advised to come here to Thirupudaimarudur to perform penance and worship Lord Shiva. He was joined by his wife Indrani and both immersed themselves in Surendra Motcha Theertham and performed penance to rid themselves of the curse.

A king who was hunting deer in the area, then filled with Marudam trees, hit a deer that crashed into thick shrubs and disappeared. Upon searching for it with weapons he hit a Lingam and saw the marks of the arrow also upon it. Realizing the Lord’s miracle he then built the temple here at Thirupudaimarudur. The marks of the arrow and crowbar are seen on the main idol here.

Karuvoor Sidhdhar who came to see the lord here at Thirupudaimarudur was prevented to proceed further by the raging Tamiraparani River. He stood on the other bank and appealed to the Lord who made it possible for him to cross the river. Seeing the lord he was surprised to see the Lingam leaning to one side. The Lord then told him that this was because he strained to listen to his voice from the other side of the River. The idol here is leaning to one side as we see it today.

Directions

Thirupudaimarudur is 3.5 kilometers southwest of Mukkudal and about 25 kilometers west of Tirunelveli. At Mukkudal in the Tenkasi road, take a left, cross the bridge over Tamiraparani and take an immediate right to reach Pushpavananadar Thirupudaimarudur.

Stay and Food

None locally. The closest for food and stay is Tirunelveli, Ambasamudram, or Tenkasi depending on your travel plans.

Saivite Temples