Thirupuran-Kundram Murugan Temple

Thiruparankundram Murugan temple is a temple dedicated to lord Murugan or Karthikeya or Subramanya. It is located in Thiruparankundram near Madurai. It is considered as the first temple of Murgan out of six temples in TamilNadu. There are also sub shrines of lord Siva, Vishnu and Ganapathi along with Goddess Durga. This temple follows the Shaiva tradition of worship. The temple uses rock-cut architecture and is believed to have been built by the Pandyas during the 6th century.  

Festivals Celebrated:

Daily six rituals and three yearly festivals are celebrated here. Skanda Shasti is the grandly celebrated festival in the temple. It comes during the Tamil month of Aippasi(October-November). This temple is under the organization of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.

History:

According to the legend,  Murugan killed a demon Surapadman and married his consort/wife goddess Devasena here. Also, lord Murugan is said to have worshipped his father Shiva here as Parangirinathar.

A devotional poem mentions six shrines dedicated to Lord Murugan with the first being Thiruparankundram. The Tamil Saiva saint, Thirugnana Sambandar is believed to have visited this temple. A seperate rock-cut cave temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva which is situated near the foot of the hill. 

At the top of the hill, two natural caverns contain rock beds believed to have been used by Jain monks. One of the beds has a Tamil Brahmi inscription. This site is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. 

As of 2021, this temple is maintained by Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the TamilNadu Government.

How To Reach:

Periyar is the nearest bus stop to this temple located at a distance of around 7.3 KM. From there, you can take a local bus or a local taxi to reach the temple easily. From Periyar bus stand there are direct buses to reach the thiruparankundram murugan temple.