Sikkal Singaravelan Temple

Getting there

• By train

  Nagapattinam Junction has rail links west to Thiruvarur, north to Nagore and south to Velankanni.

• By road

  The temple is 5 km west of Nagapattinam and 18 km east of Thiruvarur. Nagapattinam is on NH 45A and NH 67, and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation runs close to 175 daily buses to it.

Why devotees come here

Sikkal Singaravelan Temple is in Sikkal village, near Nagapattinam, a coastal district on the Bay of Bengal. It is one of the most popular Hindu temples dedicated to Murugan, and a contender for an unofficial seventh of his abodes.

The Singaravelan shrine stands inside the premises of the Sikkal Navaneetheswarar Temple, which is the main temple. The complex is one of the rare traditional Hindu temples with both Shiva and Vishnu deities in the same place.

Legend says the village was once a jasmine forest, and that Kamadenu, a semi-human being with a cow's trunk, lived here because of its pleasant smell. Kamadenu was cursed by Shiva for eating meat. She washed away her sin by bathing in the temple's holy water point and worshipping here, as Shiva had told her to.

Legend also says the sage Vashistha made a lingam from butter at the holy water point, called the Parkulam, and worshipped it there. Both legends are tied to this one spot. It is also said that Murugan received his Vel, a weapon, from his mother at Sikkal, to kill the asura Soorapadman in Sri Lanka.

Festivals

• Not dated in our sourcesSoora Samharam

  The most important festival here. It marks Murugan receiving the Vel to destroy the demon Soorapadman, and devotees believe the idol sweats at that time.

Tips for your visit

• Sikkal village also has five Pancha Narayana Kshethram Perumal temples: Loganatha, Anantha Narayana, Devanarayana, Varada Narayana and Yadava.
• Both legends point to the Parkulam, the temple's holy water point, so that is the spot to look for first.

Questions people ask