Ettukudi: History and legends

Ettukudi's history predates the construction of the Subramanya Swamy temple. siddhas and the poet who sang the Raymayana. It is also assoicated with shiva sthalams and the legend of Ardhanareeswarar, and Parvati's performance of Kedara Gowri Vratam. The name Ettukudi in fact is derived from the fact there it is surrounded by etti (Strychnine) trees and that there are shiva sthalams in eight directions. Shiva is worshipped at Ettukudi as Sundareswarar. The earliest references to this temple are those by 14th century Tamil poet Saint Arunagirinathar hence the reference to the date.

Ettukudi: Other temples in the vicinity

The devotees are welcomed in the main entrance by the 'Kandan Valaivu' or Kandan arch. The other entrance leads one to the Ammaiappan Soundara Nayakar sannidhi. A Siddhi Vinayakar sanidhi is seen here. Also present are separate shrines for Koothadum Ganapati, Suradevar, Srinivasa Soundararaja Perumal, Anjaneya, Manonmani Ammai, Ayappan, Mahalakshmi, Navagrahas, Sani Bhagawan and Bhairavar. The Bhairavar sannidhi leads one to the Ammaippan sannidhi. The Suradevar shrine here is a little strange for the fact that it is one of the few temples in India which houses its shrine. Another specialty is that to cure the ills caused by the Asuras, Siva is said tohave taken this form and destroyed them. There is also a shrine for Idumban and Kadamban. The temple is also surrounded by many small shrines of Iyyanar, Mariamman, Draupadi and Kali. There is also a shrine for 'Kokkaritha Vinayakar'. He is called so because He emulated the sound of a cock in order to wake up Thirunavukkarasar. Legend has it that the form which Lord Muruga assumes here is the typical warrior-cum-hero form in His peacock - also called Virasoundaryar. This form was taken by Him in order to vanquish the demon, Surapaduman. Other shrines here include those to Mahalakshmi, MahaVishnu (Venkatachalapati), Natarajar, and Valmiki Munivar.

Ettukudi: Popularity

Ettukudi is not one of the six Arupadai Veedu or the six sites at which Karthikeya sojourned while leading his armies against Surapadman i.e. Tiruttanikai, Swamimalai, Tiruvavinankudi (Palani), Pazhamudirsolai, Tirupparamkunram and Tiruchendur. These places have have ancient temples and associated legends. Even though Ettukudi is not one the six, it is still considered one of the more important temples diedicated to Murugan and this can be attributed in large part to poets and artisits who have sung about it. The Tamil poet Saint Arunagirinathar was one of the first to sign about it. There are several other devotional songs and mp3 recordings can heard from Ragga.com (by Pushpavanam Kuppusamy,   Mahanadhi Shobana  and the album: Azhaga Muruga ).

This temple is now very famous for its Kavvadi procession in April time frame. Associated with Kavvadi are kaavadi cindhu or lyrical music to help the bearer of the kavvaid in his effort. One of the most famous ones is the vel song (need reference) which is dedicated to Ettukudi Murugan.

Devotees, please feel free to send me additional details or references as I would like to enhance this section