Maa Narayani Suchindram Shakti Peeth Kanyakumari

Shrine’s History

The worship of Devi Kanya Kumari dates back to the Vedic times. She has been mentioned in Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Sangam works Manimekalai, Puranaanooru and Nārāyaṇa (Mahānārāyaṇa) Upanishad, a Vaishnava upanishad in the Taittiriya Samhita of Krishna Yajur Veda.As directed by his Guru Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, came here to seek Devi’s blessing in December 1892, as devi is the goddess of Sanyasa. It is in this location he decided to embark on the Missionary Work to a higher level of action rather than being passive like the usual Sanyasis’. Swami Brahmananda (1863?1922) and Swami Nirmalananda (1863?1938), another two disciples of Sri Ramakrishna Parama hamsa also worshiped Devi Kanyakumari. In fact, Swami Nirmalananda brought several small girls from many parts of Kerala to worship Bahagavathy in 1935-36 period. To the surprise of all, seven girls later became the members of the first batch of Nuns of the “Sarada Ashrama”, a Hindu Nunnery started later in 1948 in Ottapalam, Palakkad, Kerala by Swami Vishadananda.

The rites and rituals of the temple is organised and classified by following Sankaracharya’s treatise. The author of Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (60-80 A.D.) has written about the prevalence of the propitiation of the deity Kanyakumari in the extreme southern part of India; “There is another place called Comori and a harbour, hither come those men who wish to consecrate themselves for the rest of their lives, and bath and dwell in celibacy and women also do the same; for it is told that a goddess once dwelt here and bathed.”[3] [4] Kanyakumari was under the rule of the Paravar Kings[citation needed] till the downfall of Pandyas, and later by kings of Travancore under the overall suzerainty of the British until 1947, when India became independent. Travancore joined the independent Indian Union in 1947. Later in the state partition Kanyakumari became part of Tamil Nadu.

The Bhairava temple in suchindram, the famous Thanumalayan or Sthanumalayan Temple is important and attractable temple now. This huge complexed temple is dedicated for Lord shiva. Outside of this temple, a small temple dedicated for Kali is said to be most ancient kali temple and our shakthi peet. She is named as Munn udita nangai?, means woman who appeared earlier. The stories of Agalikai and sage, Gowthama maharishi linked with this temple. The Bhairava for this devi is Shamsharar. Another interesting fact is the idol of Munn uttitha nangai not made up of stone or wood, she made up of some medicinal combination Sudu sarkarai marundu?, so there is no abhisekam(sacred bath).

The Thanumalaiyan temple is just opposite, a gigantic temple with huge complex of sub shrines. Thanumalayan ? the Trimurthi Sthanu is a synonym for Siva, Mal for Vishnu and Ayan for Brahma. It is believed that the top, middle and base of the Linga represents Siva, Vishnu and Brahma respectively. There is a belief that Lord Indra worships the Linga every late night(ardha yama), so there is no Ardha-jama pooja here. The priests place the pooja materials inside the main sanctum and go to southern place and the place of Thannu malaiyan is vadakidam(north place). The priest who entering the main sanctum next day promise I wont tell outside what I see inside. Tradition goes that Indra was purified at this place and hence named as Suchindram?. Suchi means Purity. Lord Hanuman statue is in 18 feet height and looks so fierce. The current temple was built in the 17th century and is famous for its sculptures. It was previously controlled by the Nambudiris, one of the main Namboodiri families called the Thekkumon Madam. The main deity of the temple is Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma in a single form called Sthanumalyam.[2] This 17th-century temple is famous for its architectural grandeur. The seven-storey white Gopuram is visible from the distance.

Its 40 m facade is covered with sculptures of Hindu deities.[3] The place got the name of Suchindrum from the Sthala Purana. Hindu mythological legend has it that king of devas, Indra got relieved of a curse at the place of the main linga in the temple. The term “Suchi” in Suchindrum is believed to have derived from the Sanskrit meaning that stands for “purify”. Accordingly, Lord Indra is supposed to visit the temple for performing “Ardhajama Pooja”, or worship, at midnight every day. Thirumalai Nayak and the Travancore Maharajas, under whose administration the temple remained till Kanyakumari’s merger with Tamil Nadu, have made many endowments for its upkeep. It is interesting to note that during the reign of Ayilyam Thirunaall Maharajah of Travancore, a lottery scheme was introduced in 1875 A.D., to raise funds for rebuilding a portion of the temple and a sum of over Rs. 40,000 was realised.

Architectural Relevance of This Shrine

First, Kanyakumari temple. Later Parasurama built a temple on the shores and installed a beautiful idol of Goddess Kanya Kumari. The beautiful image of the Goddess in resplendent glory, with a garland in her right hand doing eternal penance as she waits for Lord Shiva to come, bestows on the devotee immense wealth of spiritual energy and peace of mind. One specialty of the idol is her diamond nose ring. The sparkling diamond nose-ring of the deity is said to be visible even from the sea. The temple’s legend says that the nose ring was obtained from a king cobra and that light reflects off it so brightly that once an ancient mariner mistook it for a lighthouse. Sailing his ship towards the beacon, he wrecked upon the Kanya Kumari rocks. In order to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, the eastern door of the temple is only opened on five special occasions throughout the year.

Lord Ganesha, Surya and Ayyappa have separate shrines. There are also shrines to Vijayasundari and Balasundari, friends and playmates of the Goddess in her youthful form. A well inside the temple known as Moola Ganga Theertham, provides water for the Devi’s abhishekam. The eastern entrance, facing the sea, remains closed throughout the year except for the Aaraattu rituals. The eastern door is opened also on new moon days in the months of Edavam, Karkkidakam (Capricorn and Cancer), during Navaratri and in the month of Vrischikam.

The temple is an architectural achievement, known for its quality of workmanship in stone. There are four musical pillars carved out of a single stone, and which stand at 18 feet (5.5 m) in height; these are an architectural and design highlight of the temple grounds. They are in the Alankara Mandapam area, and they emit the sounds of various musical notes when struck. There are an additional 1035 pillars with carvings in the area known as the dancing hall.[5] There is an Anjaneya, (or Hanuman), statue which stands at 22 feet (6.7 m) and is carved of a single granite block. It is one of the tallest statues of its type in India. It is also of historical interest that this statue was buried in the temple in 1740, fearing an attack by the Tipu Sultan and was subsequently forgotten. It was rediscovered in 1930, and subsequently restored for viewing by the then Devaswom Board Commissioner Rajya Seva Praveena Sri M.K. Neelankantha Iyer of Kottarathu Mathom, Moncompu.[6] There is also a Nandi statue, made of mortar and lime, which is 13 feet (4.0 m) tall and 21 feet (6.4 m) long, it is one of the biggest Nandi statues in India.

The religious significance of the temple stems from the fact that the main statue of linga represent Siva (Sthanu), Vishnu (maal) and Brahma (Ayan), (as well as giving the temple its name). The representation of the three central gods of Hinduism in one linga makes it unique in India. Anthropologically it may have stemmed from the fact that the main temple at Padmanabhapuram was Vaishnavite, and the Nanjil Pillais and other communities in Nagarcoil were primarily Shaivaites, because of the influences from Chola, Chera and Pandya kingdoms. One of the unique aspects of the temple is the presence of the gods across the length and breadth of the Hindu pantheon, from Rama and Krishna to Amman and kandan.

The different Hindu sects from Vaishnavism, Shaivism, to more localised Tamil sects like amman, kandan are represented in the different idols of the temple. The 10-day Car Festival celebrated in this temple during between December and January every year attracts crowds of thousands of people. Another festival known as Teppam is celebrated during between April and May every year. The Sanskrit work Sucindrastalamahatmya gives a full-fledged legendary account of the origin and development of this temple..

Shrine’s Map Location and How to Go There

By Road

Good connectivity from Trivandrum and Madurai

By Rail

The railway is the most common mode transportation to reach Kanyakumari. From Kanyakumari, local transportation needs to be taken to reach Suchindram temple. Kanyakumari connectivity to rest of the country is pretty good and train as far as from Jammu is available.

By Air

The Nearest airport is Trivandrum

Shrine Timings

All Days Open 7:30 am Close 7:30 pm

Events Celebrated at This Shrine

Navaratri is celebrated with great enthusiasm and devotion two times a year. On the other hand, Shivaratri is also a major festival being extolled with great joy and happiness. But two major festivals that account the major attraction are the Suchindram ma argali festival and the Rath Yatra. During this festival, some people keep fast (not eating any food) as a respect and dedication towards god worship. Ashokssthmi is the most important festival of the hilly goddess celebrating for three days. Following the every year based calendar Mesha Sankranti and Raja sankrajti are also important ones for her as a goddess of tantra Sastra. A large number of devotees visit the temple and worship the deity during these days every year.