kazhugachala murthy temple , kazhugumalai
kazhugumalai is a small town about 22 kms from kovilpatti and 21 kms from sankarankoil in thoothukudi district. it houses kazhugachala murthy temple , where the bird sampaathi got mukthi.
this town is well served by buses from either towns. nearest railway station : kovilpatti
karugachalamurthy murugan temple is a beautiful temple carved in the base of a hillock at the center of the town , one can reach the top of the hillock which houses jain carvings dating back more than 500 years.
other structural details can be seen from the photos.
thaippoosam , vaikasi visakam and soora samharam are celebrated in a grand scale here.
thaipusam is one of the biggest murugan festivals celebrated during the full moon in the tamil month of thai (january/february). it’s a time to ask lord murugan, son of lord shiva, for forgiveness, good health and peace in the new year.
lets celebrate this year’s thaippoosam with karugaachala moorthy in karugumalai.
temple legend aka sthalapuranam
as per hindu legend, the temple is associated with the period of ramayana.
ravana, the demon king, while abducting sita, the consort of rama, killed jatayu, the eagle. rama did the final rites for jatayu, who informed rama about the abduction before his life ended.
jatayu’s brother sambathi, who was also called kazhugu maha munivar, was worried about the repercussions of him not doing his karma, the final rites of his brother. rama advised him to do his penance at gajamuka parvatham and taking holy dip in the tank.
ages passed by and the time arrived when muruga was pursuing to slay surapadman, another demon. tharukasuran, the brother of surapadman, was troubling the sages in the region. murugan slayed tharukasuran and was resting at kazhugumalai. sambathi was assisting murugan and he also indicated the hideout of surapadman, whom murugan slayed subsequently. pleased with his devotion, murugan gave salvation. the place came to be known as kazhugumalai since the sage kazhugumahamunivar resided here.
festivals and other details
jain inscriptions can be seen in the hillock and there are steps to goto the top.
open from morning 6 am to 12.30 pm and from evening 5 to 9 pm.
contact details : 04632 251225 , 04632 251500, 94439 80585
pincode 628 552
