Swaminathaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Murugan located at Swamimalai near Kumbakonam on the banks of one of the tributaries of river Cauvery. This temple is among the six holy shrines dedicated to Murugan and famous by the name Arupadaiveedu. This temple has three precincts, three gopuram, that is, the gateway towers and sixty steps named after 60 Tamil years.

Being in existence from 2nd century BC, this temple has a long history. At present, the temple is administered and maintained by the Tamil Nadu Government’s Hindu Religious and Endowment Board.

Legend

As per a popular Hindu legend, Brahma who is considered as the God of Creation of the world as per Hindu mythology, while visiting the abode of Lord Shiva, the Mount Kailash disrespected his son Muruga. As a result, Muruga got angry with Lord Brahma and questioned him about how was he creating the living beings, to which Brahma answered that with the help of Vedas, the Hindu Scriptures, he creates the living beings. Then, Muruga asked Lord Brahma to recite some texts from the Vedas, to which, Brahma started reciting with “Om” the holiest word known as Pranav Mantra. In the middle of recitation, the Muruga stopped Brahma for explaining him the meaning of Pranav Mantra. Brahma struck there and could not answer with the meaning. This made Muruga knock the Lord Brahma on his forehead and punish him with imprisonment. Afterwards, Muruga took up the role of creation of the world. This made the Devas, celestial deities to notice the absence of Brahma and they went to Lord Vishnu for carrying out negotiations between Brahma and Muruga for releasing Brahma from the imprisonment. But Vishnu could not help Devas, and thus, the request for negotiation went to Lord Shiva.

Shiva went to Muruga to ask him to release Lord Brahma but he refused and argued that Brahma was not even aware of the meaning of the Pranav Mantra and on being asked by Lord Shiva, Muruga extolled the meaning of “Om” the Pranav Mantra. This made Lord Shiva listen like a student to Muruga and he started listening the meaning with rapt attention while giving Muruga a new name “Swaminatha Swamy”. The literal meaning of this is the teacher of Shiva. This is why, in the temple of Swaminathaswamy, the shrine of Muruga is located on the hillock, while the shrine of his father Lord Shiva (Sundareshwar) is located down the hill with the shrine of his mother Goddess Parvathi (Meenakshi).

History

It is believed that this temple is in existence since 2nd Century BC from the Sangam Period and Parantaka Chola I modified this temple. This temple suffered great damages in 1740 during the war between British and Hyder Ali.

Architecture

This temple is built on “Kattu Malai” which means an artificial hill and encompasses three gopuram and three precincts. These three precincts are located at three distinct places, the first one is at basement, the second one is located on the midway of the hillock to the top and the last one is on the hillock itself around the Swaminathaswamy shrine’s sanctum. The way between basement and the shrine on the hillock is covered by 60 steps, each of which is named after the sixty Tamil years. After the first thirty steps, the second precinct of the temple is located.

The image of Lord Muruga in the shrine is 6 ft tall and is embellished by golden crowns, golden amours and a diamond lance. The shrine of Vinayagar is located outside the first precinct and there is central shrine as well which houses Swaminathaswamy’s granite image. The first precinct possesses the festival image of Muruga along with images of Chadikeswarar, Durga, Navagrahas and Dakshinamurthy.

The temple also houses the chariot of temple and a marriage hall in its second precinct which si also the largest among all three precincts.

Festivals

Three annual festivals are held by the temple every year and the annual Vaikasi Visagam festival is one of the most celebrated one, attended by thousands of devotees.

The other festivals that are celebrated in the temple include the Brahma Utsavam, the festival of the marriage of Subrahmanya with Valli and the Skanda Shasthi.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit the temple is during the festivals and winter months from October to March are a good time to visit.

How to Reach

By Train

The nearest railway station to Swaminathaswamy temple is Kumbakonam which is located at a distance of about 7 km from the temple. After reaching the station, you can board a taxi or an auto-rickshaw to reach the temple, which will not take more than half an hour.

By Road

Kumbakonam is the nearest city to Swamimalai where the temple is located. It has good road connectivity with other cities of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. You can hire a taxi or drive by yourself, or can also board state transport buses to reach the temple.

By Air

The nearest airport to the temple is Civil Airport, Tiruchirapalli which is located at a distance of about 84 km from the temple. Once you reach the airport, finding a taxi to visit the temple is not difficult at all. The taxi will charge you 1200 – 2000 INR depending on the services.