Tiruchendur

Temple and sacred site (tirtha) on the
Bay of Bengal in Tamil Nadu, sixty miles
up the coast from Kanyakumari.
Tiruchendur is part of the network of six
700
Tiruchendur
A group of pilgrims on a tirthayatra
(pilgrimage), Tibet.
temples in Tamil Nadu built to honor
Murugan, a hill deity who has been
assimilated into the larger pantheon as a
form of the god Skanda, the son of
Shiva. Five of these temples have been
definitively identified, and each is associated with a particular region, a specific
ecosystem, and a particular incident in
Murugan’s mythic career. In the case of
Tiruchendur, it is said to be where he
killed a demon enemy and thus presents
him in his warrior aspect. The sixth of
these temples is said to be every other
shrine to Murugan in Tamil Nadu. The
cult of Murugan is thus a symbolic vehicle for Tamil pride and identity, and
because the number six has connotations of completeness—as in the six
directions or the six chakras in the subtle body—it also connotes that nothing
outside is needed. For further information see Fred Clothey, “Pilgrimage
Centers in the Tamil Cultus of
Murukan,” in Journal of the American
Academy of Religion, Vol. 40, No. 1, 1972.