Monday 24 December, 2007

Thiruparangkundram

One of the Aru Padaiveedu, the six main abodes of Lord Muruga, Tiruparankunram offers a mystic beauty. It is carved in rock and is monstrous in size for such an architecture. It is where the lord marries Deivanai, the divine daughter of the king of heaven, Indra. The temple is located 5 miles from Madurai in India. In the main shrine, apart from Muruga, deities of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, Lord Vinayaka and Goddess Durga are housed.

One of the curious thing about this temple is that, the Gods Shiva and Vishnu face each other in the main shrine, and this is a rare thing in ancient Hindu temples. This is because Hinduism always held two distinct worshipping groups - Shaivites (worshippers of Lord Shiva) and Vaishnavites (worshippers of Lord Vishnu). Outside the temple there is a beautiful pond where, according to Temple tradition, the fishes are served with salt and rice flakes by the devotees. There is also a Vedic school adjacent to the banks of the temple pond.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirupparamkunram_Murugan_Temple

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