The Marudhamalai Murugan Temple, or the Maruthamalai Marudhachalamurthy Temple, is a 12th-century hill temple situated in

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, India. Built by

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

kings during the

Sangam period The Sangam literature ( Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' ( Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ''), connote ...

as indicated in the ''

Purananuru The ''Purananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the genre puram"), sometimes called ''Puram'' or ''Purappattu'', is a classical Tamil literature, Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') i ...

'', the temple is dedicated to

Murugan Kartikeya (/ kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda ( /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/ sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha ( /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan (/ mʊɾʊgən/), is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the ...

, a form of Kartikeya. It is traditionally regarded to be the seventh in the list of the

Six Abodes of Murugan The Six Abodes of Murugan () are six temples situated in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India, dedicated to the Hinduism, Hindu deity Kartikeya, Murugan. These six sacred abodes of Murugan are mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature, in the texts ...

. Like most Murugan temples, the temple is situated upon a hill, part of the Western Ghats about 12 km west from the centre of the city of

Thaipusam Thaipusam or Thaipoosam (Tamil language, Tamil: Taippūcam, ) is a Tamil Hindu festival celebrated on the first Purnima, full moon day of the Tamil calendar, Tamil month of Pausha, Thai coinciding with Pushya, Pusam Nakshatra, star. The festiv ...

and other festivals dedicated to the deity are celebrated here. On many evenings, devotees gather for a procession of Murugan sitting in a chariot (

ratha yatra Ratha Yatra (), or chariot festival, is any public procession in a chariot. They are held annually during festivals in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The term also refers to the popular annual Ratha Yatra of Puri that involves a public process ...

) and encircle the temple. The temple is maintained and administered by the

Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu manages and controls the temple administration within the state. The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act XXII of 1959 controls 36,425 ...

of the

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

Etymology

The name Marudhamalai refers to the tall granite hill on which the temple stands and is derived from the native tree called or (''

Terminalia arjuna ''Terminalia arjuna'' is a tree of the genus '' Terminalia''. It is commonly known as arjuna or arjun tree in English. It is used as a traditional medicinal plant. Description ''T. arjuna'' grows to about 20–25 metres tall; usually has a buttr ...

'', also known as the Arjuna tree) which grows there, and , meaning hill or mountain in

. This Murugan temple is special since it is on the east face on the hill, unlike other Murugan temples on the hills.

Marudhamalai Adivaram

Marudhamalai, or Marudhamalai Adivaram (meaning "at the foot of Maradhumalai"), is also the name of the locality to the east of the hill and the temple. It forms part of the 17th ward of

Coimbatore Corporation The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation is the civic body that governs the city of Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu after Chennai with an area of 257.04 sq km. Histo ...

Site

The presiding deity is addressed by multiple names, such as Marudhamalai Andavar, Marudachalapathi and Dhandayuthanpani. There are springs or pools of sacred water (''

theertham Theertham (Theertha or Tirtha) literally refers to water. In Hindu sacred literature, it is referred to as the physical holy water body associated with a temple or deity. As per Hindu religious belief, water is the principal purification mechanis ...

'') around the temple, namely Maruda Theertham and Skanda Theertham, which are believed to possess medicinal properties. Marudhamalai temple

Pambatti Siddhar

In the southern end of the temple, the ''prahara'' staircase to the

Pambatti Siddhar Pambatti siddhar was one of the 18 siddhars, a lineage of monks or sages who lived at various time periods in India, mainly southern India. Some of his poems, roughly around 600 lines of text are available today. His poems are written in Tamil an ...

cave is located. Pambatti Siddhar was one of the 18

Siddhar The Siddhar (Tamil language, Tamil (romanized) ''cittar)'' in Tamils, Tamil tradition is a perfected individual who has attained spiritual powers called ''siddhi''. Historically, Siddhar also refers to the people who were early-age wandering ...

s, a group of Tamil sages, and lived during the 12th century. He is regarded to have performed penance on the Maruthamalai hill. According to legend, Murugan appeared as a snake to him, and to have appeared again later along with his consorts

Valli Valli () is a devi, Hindu goddess, and the second consort of the deity Murugan. An incarnation of the goddess Sundaravalli, daughter of Vishnu, Valli is born on earth as the daughter of a chieftain, leading a life of a huntress. Murugan, the god ...

and

Devasena Devasena (, , ) is the Hindu goddess of aspirations, and the consort of the war god Kartikeya (Murugan). She is also known as Devayanai, Deivanai, and Deivayanai in Tamil texts. Her name is also spelled as Teyvanai or Tevayanai (). Devasen ...

, and is said to have given

the Marutha Tirtham and blessed him. A connecting tunnel route from Murugan's sanctum sanctorum and Siddhar's cave was formed, which the Siddhar is believed to have used to worship the deity.

References

Hindu temples in Coimbatore district Murugan temples in Tamil Nadu Buildings and structures in Coimbatore {{TamilNadu-hindu-temple-stub