Thamaraikulam Pathi (), is one among the

Pancha pathi Pancha pathi (Tamil language, Tamil: பஞ்ச பதி, "the five abodes of God") are the five important pilgrim centers of Ayyavazhi. These are also considered as the primary Pathis and as worship centers of Ayyavazhi with primary status ...

, the five holy places of

Ayyavazhi Ayyavazhi (, ''Ayyāvaḻi'' , ) is a Hinduism, Hindu denomination that originated in South India during the 19th century.Tha. Krishna Nathan, ''Ayyaa vaikuNdarin vaazvum sinthanaiyum'', p. 62: "" (The day at which Vaikundar is given rebirth co ...

. The Ari Gopalan Citar, who wrote the

Akilam Akilathirattu Ammanai (; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi. The title is often abbreviated to Ak ...

was born here. Thamaraikulam Pathi was built by (present constructions) Pathi first Guru.Ponnaranainjavan Udaiyakutti in his land. Akilathirattu Ammanai Written by Arigopalancidar in Thamaraikulam Pathi. This was considered as a Pathi because the Akilam was written down here, which was one among the incarnational activities of

Vaikundar Ayya Vaikundar, also known as Siva Narayana or Vaikunda Swami, was the founder of the Ayyavazhi faith. The Ayyavazhis believe him to be the first and foremost Purna avatar of Eka-Paran and the god Vishnu (Narayana). As per Ayyavazhi mytholo ...

. When Ayya Vaikudar came out from the sea (after his first vinchai) he decided and planned to do meditation at here only. This is the first place he visited and started his first pathi. This is the First pathi in the All Pancha pathi's. During the times of Ayya Vaikunder, he was taken once in a year in a

Vahana ''Vāhana'' () or ''vahanam'' () denotes the being, typically an animal or mythical entity, a particular Hindus, Hindu deity is said to use as a vehicle. In this capacity, the vāhana is often called the deity's "mount". Upon the partnership b ...

by the devotees to this Pathi.

Prayers and Festivals

Like the other

Pathi Pathi ( - "The place where God is") is the name of the primary centres of congregational worship for the South Indian religious system of Ayyavazhi, having a relatively large structure like that of a temple. They are seven in number. The Pathis ...

s, the

Panividai Ayyavazhi rituals are the religious practices prevalent among the followers of Ayyavazhi. Most of them are connected with Akilam and Arul Nool and a few, though not associated with the holy books, are practiced for over a century right from the b ...

s are conducted thrice a day the special panividais are on every Sundays. The

Kodiyettru Thirunal Kodiyettru Thirunal is the festival celebrated in Swamithoppepathi for eleven days by the followers of the Ayyavazhi. This is celebrated three times annually during the Tamil months of Tamil calendar, Aavani, Tamil calendar, Thai and Tamil calend ...

is celebrated here during the

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 ...

month of

Panguni The Tamil calendar (தமிழ் நாட்காட்டி) is a sidereal solar calendar used by the Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It is also used in Puducherry, and by the Tamil population in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapo ...

starting from the second Friday of Panguni and last for eleven days. The Thirdu Eadu-vasippu here is celebrated here for seventeen days in the Tamil month of Karthigai. It was at the same time the same festival is conducted in Swamithope pathi. Since the

was written down here, only during this fest the pathi is considered with high sacrament than Swamithope pathi. The Original Palm-leaf version of Akilam is readout here for seven days. Then worshippers as procession, used to bring it to Swamithoppe pathi on last Sunday of the Tamil Month of Karthigai and after completing it reading for seventeen days again return it to Thamaraikulam pathi and complete it by reading the rest in ten days. Thamaraikulam Pathi - Palliyarai

Another important festival celebrated by Ayyavazhi followers centering Thamaraikulam Pathi is the 'Vahana bhavani' (procession carrying Ayya in a Vahana) to Thamaraikulam from Swamithope pathi. It is a One-day-festival celebrated on the last Sunday of Tamil month Panguni. On that day people from

Swamithoppe Swamithope (alternate spelling Swamithoppe) is the name of a village that lies southeast of the City of Nagercoil, the capital of the District of Kanyakumari in the State of Tamil Nadu, at the extreme southern tip of India. In the past, Swamitho ...

march in great numbers to Muttapathi under the leadership of Payyan carrying Ayya in a

. It was in practice right from the time of

Location and religious status

This

is located 8 km South-east to

Nagercoil Nagercoil, natively spelt as Nāgarkovil (, "Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a Municipal Corporation city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the ...

7 km North-west to

Kanyakumari Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...

. It was also located 2 km south to

Swamithope Swamithope (alternate spelling Swamithoppe) is the name of a village that lies southeast of the City of Nagercoil, the capital of the District of Kanyakumari in the State of Tamil Nadu, at the extreme southern tip of India. In the past, Swamitho ...

. It also lies 3 km west to the historical

Agastheeswaram Agastheeswaram is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. History Agasteeswaram is named after Agastya, Sage Agastya, who visited this place to teach the Ramayana. Most of t ...

. There is a direct bus service from

and

to here. This is the place where Ayya commissioned the Citar to write down the

by telling the first sullable of ' The Kappu', of Akilam, it was considered with equal importance with other Pathis. Also Akilam too accredit it as a '

Architecture and Structure

As all other

s, the Palliyarai here forms the inner and the central structure of the whole architecture. An inner corridor, which allows the worshippers to circum-ambulate, surrounds the Palliyarai. In front of this inner corridor, there is a hall in which the prayers are conducted. Sivayu Medai is located in the south-east of Palliyarai.

Administration

Due to lot of issues now the temple is under administration/control of

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 ...

, however daily panividai and festivals are handled by traditional Thamarai pathi parambarai Guru family members. Now the situation is better since its administrated by Government of Tamilnadu (

) and village separatists are not involved in temple administration.

References

* Dr. R. Ponnu (2000), ''Sri Vaikunda Swamigal and Struggle for Social Equality in South India'', Ram Publishers. * G.Patrick (2003), ''Religion and Subaltern Agency'', University of Madras. * N.Elango & Vijaya Shanthi Elango (1997), ''Ayya Vaikundar - The Light of the World'', Publisher: Authors. * R. Shunmugam (2001), ''Nadar Kulathil Narayanar Avatharam'', Nadar Kulatheepam Publishers. *https://www.thamaraikulampathi.com/ {{Ayyavazhi large Holy cities Pancha pathi

Prayers and Festivals

Location and religious status

Architecture and Structure

Administration

See also

References