5/5 Ramesh S. 4 years ago on Google
Vattamalai
Murugan
temple:
This
is
another
small
Murugan
temple
in
Kongunadu.
It
is
around
8
Kms
from
Kangeyam
on
the
Kangeyam-Pazhani
road.
The
presiding
deity
is
Shri
Muthukumaraswamy
in
the
company
of
Shri
Valli
and
Shri
Devasena.
Arunaginathar
has
visited
this
placed
and
sang
on
this
Murugan
in
Thirupugazh.
The
temple
is
facing
west
and
it
could
be
seen
from
a
long
distance.
The
main
shrine
is
that
of
Shri
Subramanyar
with
a
spear
in
his
hand.
There
are
separate
shrines
for
Valli
and
Devasena.
The
temple
is
atop
a
small
hillock
with
nearly
100
steps.
There
are
several
interesting
details
about
this
temple.
Among
the
eighteen
Siddhars
was
Shri
Kongana
Siddhar.
(
those
who
have
read
about
the
story
of
Thiruvalluvar-Vasuki
and
the
devotion
of
the
latter
to
her
husband
and
how
she
addressed
“
Kokkendru
Ninaithayao
Konganava”
may
remember
the
name
of
this
Siddhar.
I
am
not
sure
whether
the
Vasuki
story
is
connected
to
Kongana
Siddhar.
But
as
per
Siddha
system,
he
was
the
disciple
of
Boggar
and
a
great
scholar
who
attained
Samadhi
in
Tirupathi
).
He
resided
on
this
hill
and
hence
this
place
is
also
known
as
Konganagiri.
Till
1949,
this
was
known
as
an
ancient
Shiva
temple,
built
some
1300
years
ago.
Its
antiquity
and
connections
to
the
Pandya
Kingdom
are
seen
by
the
Fish
emblem
in
different
parts
of
the
temple.
The
statue
of
Shri
Sundaramurthy
Nayanar
in
one
of
the
pillars
in
the
Vadhya
Mandapam
also
confirms
its
long
history.
When
the
Kumbabhishekam
was
performed
in
that
year,
the
main
shrine
was
shifted
positions
and
Shri
Muthukumaraswamy
was
installed
as
the
main
deity.
The
Shivalingam
and
Parvathi
shrine
are
in
the
southwest
side
of
the
Mahamandapam.
Near
the
shrine
of
Shri
Muthukumraswamy,
Adiseshan
is
also
installed,
which
is
a
rare
thing
in
a
Murugan
temple.
It
is
said
that
a
snake
permanently
stays
in
this
temple
and
does
not
harm
the
devotees.
In
the
Mahamandapam,
there
is
a
Mahanyasa
Peetam
in
which
a
big
Lotus
flower
is
carved.
On
the
Panguni
Uthiram
day,
a
pot
of
water
brought
from
the
temple
theertham
(Saravana
Theertham),
is
kept
on
this
lotus
and
poojas
are
performed.
Afterwards,
this
water
is
used
for
performing
Abhishekam
to
the
Lord.
This
Saravana
Theertham
is
is
believed
to
have
been
created
by
lightning
and
thunder.
It
is
also
called
Neeradi-Neruppadi
Sunai.
Special
prayers
are
offered
to
the
Lord
on
Tuesdays
with
Sevvarali
flowers
(
Ghanera
).
When
we
start
climbing
the
steps,
we
come
across
the
shrines
of
Vinayagar
and
Idumban.
When
we
finish
the
climb,
we
are
greeted
by
the
3
tier
rajagopuram.
There
are
carved
figures
of
Veerabhadrar,
Vishnu,
Lakshmi,
Anjaneya,
Narasimha
and
Badrakali.
As
per
local
customs,
a
newly
married
husband
should
carry
his
wife
to
the
top
of
the
hill
and
if
he
accomplishes
this,
their
married
life
is
blissful!
(
Note:
Photos
and
some
of
the
inputs
were
collected
from
various
web
sites
).
I
am
given
to
understand
that
there
is
another
temple
with
the
same
name-Vattamalai-near
Tiruchengode.
Note:
Photos
and
some
of
the
inputs
were
collected
from
various
web
sites.
