Arupadai Veedu – the six main abodes of Muruga

 Muruga and his Significance

Muruga is an important deity of Hinduism. He is the second son of Shiva and Parvati. Muruga is also known as Subramanya, Kartikeya and Skanda. Muruga is depicted in several forms and each of his form has special significance and is given a special name. some of his popular forms and its names are given below.

1   1)  Balamurugan – Muruga depicted as a child
2)  Vela – the one who hold Vel, a kind of spear
3)  Arumugam – the one with six faces
4)  Dhandapani – the mendicant form, holding a dhandam(staff)
5)  Mayilvahanan – one who rides on peacock
6)  Devasenapathi – the chief of the army of Devas

Muruga worship is one of the six worship systems of Hinduism and is referred as Koumara. In north India Muruga is known as Kartikeya and is considered elder to Ganesh but in south India he is considered younger to Ganesh. Similarly, in north people consider him as celibate but worship Ganesh with two wives, Siddhi and Buddhi but in south, Ganesh is considered as a celibate whereas Muruga is depicted with his two consorts, Devasena and Valli.

Proofs of Muruga worship exist in the Tamil Sangam Literature, ancient Tamil poets like Nakkeerar have sang in praise of Muruga and his abodes. Worshipping Muruga on Tuesdays and Shashti thithi is considered very special. Thai Poosam, Panguni Uththiram, Vaikasi Visagam and Maha Skanda Shashti are the popular festivals of Muruga.

The abodes of Muruga

Worship of Muruga is very popular in Tamil Nadu and is worshipped by majority of the Tamils. Highest temples for Muruga exist in Tamil Nadu, many of these temples are centuries old and are thronged by devotees. Other than Tamil Nadu, good number of Muruga temples exist in Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra.

Where ever Tamils have migrated, they have taken the Muruga worship along with them, Today, there are many Muruga temples countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Fiji, USA and Australia.

Arupadai Veedu – the six main abodes of Muruga

Amongst the many abodes of Muruga, six are considered to be very important and are hailed as, ‘Arupadai Veedu’ by the devotees. The devotees wish to visit these six abodes at least once in their life time. All these six abodes are located in Tamil Nadu and are easily accessible.

1.      Subramanya Swamy Temple, Thiruparankundram: This temple the first of the Arupadaiveedu and is located in Madurai and is a rock-cut temple. This was the place where Muruga married Indra's daughter, Devasena. Poet Nakkeerar worshipped Murugan in this shrine and is said to have composed songs in praise of him.

2.      Subramanya Swamy Temple, Tiruchendur: this temple is close to the sea shore and is in the Thoothukudi district. This was the place where Muruga defeated the forces of asuras and freed the devas. The annual Soora samhara function is observed grandly near the sea shore every year.

3.      Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani: this hill temple is located in Palani of Dindigul district. This is the place where Murugan resided for some time after his differences with his family over the sharing of a divine fruit. The main deity is made by Saint Bhogar out of an amalgam of nine minerals popularly called Navabashanam.

4.      Swaminathan Swamy Temple, Swamimalai: Located nearby Kumbakonam, this temple is built on an artificial hill. This was the place where Muruga explained the crux ‘OM’, the Pranav mantra to his father Shiva.

5.      Solaimalai Murugan Temple, Pazhamudircholai: this temple is on a small hillock located on the outskirts of Madurai. Here Murugan is in a relaxed state and provides darshan along with his consorts Deivanai and Valli.

6.      Subramanya Swamy Temple, Tiruttani: this temple is the last of the Arupadai Veedu temples and is close to Chennai. This was the place where Murugan reclaimed his inner peace after his war with Asuras.