Thiruparankundram Murugan Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Madurai Airport at Avaniyapuram is the nearest airport, about 11 km away.

• By train

  Tirupparankundram station is 6 km from Madurai Junction on the Madurai to Tirunelveli line.

• By road

  A bus stand in the neighbourhood has buses to other parts of Madurai and nearby villages.

On the way

• Stone stairs and a walkway run up from the north end of the hill.
• A path from the south end also leads to the top.

Rules to know

• Animal sacrifice is banned within the hill area.
• Limited prayers by the dargah administration are allowed on the hill only during Ramzan and Bakrid.

Why devotees come here

Thiruparankundram Murugan Temple stands at the foot of Kandhamalai, a hill that Hindus regard as sacred. It is one of the Six Abodes of Murugan, the Arupadaiveedu, and the main shrine is dedicated to Subramaniya Swamy.

Thiruparankundram is one of the Six Abodes of Murugan, the Arupadaiveedu, and a major pilgrimage site. The main shrine is the Subramaniya Swamy temple at the foot of the hill. The hill itself is sacred to Hindus and is known as Kandhamalai, the hill of Kandha. Local belief holds that the five Pandava brothers of the Mahabharata visited the Jain beds on the hill.

The early cave temple at the northern foot of the hill grew in stages over the years. Shrines and halls were added from the 7th to 16th century by different Hindu dynasties, and they later became part of the Murugan temple complex. A rock-cut temple to Kasi Viswanathar is dated to the 7th century.

In the 14th century, Sikandar Shah, the last ruler of the Madurai Sultanate, was killed here by Kumara Kampana of the Vijayanagara Empire. A dargah built for him stands on the northeastern side of the hill. The Archaeological Survey of India has protected the whole hill as a monument under notices from 1908 and 1923, covering over 172 acres.

Festivals

• Every year, dates not confirmedSanthanakoodu

  The annual festival has been permitted to continue.

Tips for your visit

• Hindu pilgrims walk all the way around the hill, which has many religious monuments.
• Local historic belief places the five Pandava brothers of the Mahabharata at the Jain beds on the hill.

Questions people ask