Thiruchendur Murugan Temple

As described in the Skanda Purana, the demon king Surapadma, blessed with Shiva's boon that none but his son can kill him, unleashed torture over everyone living. Devastated, the gods begged Lord Shiva to save them. This led to the birth of Lord Murugan - born of fire sparks and brought up by the goddess of earth. At a battle at Thiruchendur at Tuticorin, he defeated Surapadma and killed him, and after that worshipped his Lord father, Shiva at this very spot.
Defeating him was the holy purpose of Kartikeya's birth. He went on to become the commander of war for the gods' armies. He defeated the demon's armies and pinned him up to a tree with his spear. From the broken spear emerged a cock and a peacock, whom he took oh his banner and as his vaahana. Before and after the war, he camped at the seashore by the Bay of Bengal, and after the war was over, he desired to worship his lord father and ask for his blessings. Hence, Mayan the architect built a shrine where the temple now stands. It is one of the six abodes of Lord Murugan in Tamil Nadu and the only one to be located at the seaside. The other five are situated in Thiruthani, Swamimalai, Palani, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparankunram, but all of them are atop hills.

Originally believed to be a stone structure cut out of the hills, in later years it was renovated and rebuilt with granite. The locally found red sandstone was used for the foundation of the temple, from which the place gets the name 'Senthur' meaning red region.

The Raja Gopuram - the very ornate and main doorway of any South Indian temple which acts as an entrance into the temple premise is situated on the western side.  The nine-storeyed, 137 feet long and 90 feet wide elaborate structure called Mela Gopuram rises over everything else into the sky of Thiruchendur. This gate is only used during festivals. The main entrance is the southern gate called Shanmukha Vilasa.

The main sanctum sanctorum of the temple is the home to the deity of Lord Murugan in a standing posture alongside Shivalingas, which is a throwback to the legend of the Lord worshipping his father in this place. Before the main sanctorum, in the first corridor, there are shrines, caves and temples dedicated towards his consorts Vali and Deivanai, local hunter king Dattatreya and many deities of Shiva and Vishnu like Nataraj, Kashi Vishwanath and Shankar Narayan.

The earliest records of the temple's existence are some inscriptions dating way back to 875 AD. There is no real documentation of the Thiruchendur Murugan Temple's original construction, but it is known that the Pallavas during the same time, and later other dynasties like Pandyas and Cheras renovated it. Much later, during the Dutch attack of 1649 on the Portuguese colonies of Tuticorin, the Governor of the attackers, Joan Maetsuycker ordered to fortify the temple and use it as a garrison. The Dutch soldiers looted the treasures of the holy place while the locals made vain attempts to save it.

After a formal complaint to the Nayak, the mediator, he advised the Dutch to leave; but they took the main deity away with them. The local legend says how the Lord himself showed up in the dreams of Vadamalaiyappa Pillaiyyan, the local governor of Tirunelveli, and directed him to the spot in the sea where he would find the idol floating. However, according to history, it was returned after much negotiations and letter-exchange.

Masi and Avani festivals: Twice a year, the temple brahmotsavams are held for 12 long days. Masi is held during February-March and Avani is held during August-September. In both the festivals, the Lord's deity is taken out during the 7th, 8th and 9th day and housed in the Shanmukha Vilasa Mandapam for all the devotees to have a glimpse and pay respects.  On the 10th day, the deity is taken out for a procession of temple cars into the city.
In the Avani festival, only two cars are there, whereas in Masi all three of them are out. The Theppam floating takes place on the 11th day of the Masi festival. People come in hundreds and thousands to celebrate these festivals in the temple and have a view of the Lord.

Vasant Festival: In the month of Chittirai (April-May), the ten days long Vasant festival takes place in the temple. The deity of Murugan and his consorts Valli and Deivanai are taken out of their respective sanctums and placed in the Vasanta Mantap for the gathered devotees to view and offer prayers.

Vaikasi Visagam: On the Visakam day, Special Abishegam for Lord Shanmuga is performed and during the night time, the procession of the lord and his consorts takes place. It is usually held in the month of May-June.

Skanda Sasti Festival: Held during October-November for 7 days, this festival marks the defeat of the demon king Surapadma in the hands of Murugan. Devotees gather in lakhs during this main festival of the temple. On the sixth day, Soorasamharam, a folk-dance representation of the battle between the two is enacted for the devotees. On the seventh, the wedding between Murugan and Deivanai is celebrated.

The nearest airport to the temple is Tuticorin airport at 40 km and the nearest train station is Thiruchendur railway station. From both the places, there are buses, cabs and autos that go to the temple. The place can also be reached from other main cities like Madurai or Chennai by long-distance buses.