Main Deity:
Kazhugasalamoorthy (Lord Murugan)
Goddesses / Consorts:
Valli and Deivanai
Temple information:
The author of the Kandha Puranam, Kachiyappar, mentions that there are three shrines where Lord Kumaran (Murugan) faces west, and among them, the most royal and majestic one is Kazhugumalai. The most remarkable feature of this temple is that the hill has been carved to build the temple inside it—thus, the mountain itself serves as the temple’s tower (gopuram). To circumambulate this Kudavarai (cave) temple, one must walk around the hill itself.
In this temple, Kazhugasalamoorthy appears with one face and six arms, standing with his left foot on the peacock’s neck and his right foot hanging freely, holding the Vel (spear) in his hand. A unique aspect here is the peacock, which is Indra himself, transformed into the bird. In most other temples, the peacock is depicted as an asura (demon), and hence its face is usually on Murugan’s right side. However, since Indra is the peacock in this temple, its face is turned to Murugan’s left side. Therefore, during the Soorasamharam festival days, the peacock’s face is kept covered.
Another specialty of this place is the presence of both Guru (Dakshinamurthy) and Mars (Murugan/Sevvai)—hence, it is referred to as a Guru-Mangala Sthalam (a holy place associated with Jupiter and Mars). It is also believed in legend that Sage Agastya worshipped Kazhugasalamoorthy here daily. A distinct feature of this temple is that both Lord Murugan and Lord Shiva have their own separate resting chambers (palli arai) within the premises.
Temple History:
Jatayu was killed by Ravana. Lord Rama performed his final rites and gave him salvation. Jatayu’s younger brother, Sampathi, who was a sage in the form of a bird (vulture), came to know this through Hanuman. He was sad that he couldn’t perform the final rites for his brother and asked Lord Rama, “When will I be freed from the sin of not doing the last rites? Where can I go to get rid of this?”
Rama replied, “If you take a holy bath and offer prayers at the sacred water body in Gajamukha Mountain, you will find relief.”
Many thousands of years passed, and Sampathi stayed at the Gajamukha Mountain. During that time, Lord Murugan came that way on his mission to defeat the demon Soorapadman. At that time, Soorapadman’s brother, Tarakasura, was troubling the sages and people there. On the Panchami day in the Tamil month of Aippasi, Murugan killed Tarakasura.
Tired from the battle, Murugan rested at Gajamukha Mountain. Sampathi offered him a place to stay and also showed him where Soorapadman was hiding. Pleased with Sampathi’s help, Murugan granted him liberation (moksha). Thus, Sampathi was freed from the sin of not performing the rites for his brother.
Because the vulture sage Sampathi lived there, the mountain came to be known as Kazhugumalai — meaning “Vulture Hill.”
Location:
Place (Town):
Kazhugumalai
District:
Thoothukudi
State:
Tamil Nadu