Thanumalayan Temple or Suchindram Sthanumalaya Perumal Temple is one of the ancient shakti peeth located in Suchindram, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. As per texts and literature, it is estimated to be 2500 years old temple.
People also call this temple with the name “Sthanumalaya” which means Trimurthies (Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar). If we expand Sanskrit word “Sthanumalaya” we get Sthanu – Shiva, Mal – Vishnu and Ayan – Brahma.
Legend of Thanumalayan Temple:
According to Stalapurana and ancient texts, Suchindram is the place where Lord Indra got cleansed from the curse. Once Indra got infatuated on the beauty of Ahalya, wife of sage Gautama. In order to posses Ahalya, one night Indra came to the hermitage of sage Gautama and sounded like a cock indicating that Sun is about to raise and its morning. When sage went to the river and completed his ablutions he realized that it’s still dark night. He returned back to his hermitage and got to know that there is some other person with his wife. With his powers, sage got to know that it’s Indra who came to fulfill his lust towards his wife Ahalya. In anger, the sage cursed Indra to cover his body full of Yoni (female organ) and Ahalya to become stone. Later when Indra realized of his mistake he prayed Trimurthies to get rid of his curse. After he got his original form he builds Lingam representing Trimurthies with upper, middle and bottom parts.
There is also another legend of the story Anasuya where she made Trimurthies to children and later on transformed to their original form.
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Significance of Suchindram Sthanumalaya Perumal Temple :
According to the Hindu mythology, Daksha yagna and Sati self-immolation, and as per the texts of Brahmanda Purana, it is the holy place where “Upper teeth” fell down. Local people call the deity with the name Narayani and her concert, Bhairava form of Lord Shiva is worshiped with the name Sanhar.
It is believed that Lord Indra comes every day during night time and performs “Adharma Pooja”.
How to reach Suchindram Temple:
Road: It is about 11 kilometers from Kanyakumari and 7 kilometers from Nagarkoil. One can find many buses floating on this route.
Rail: Kanyakumari Express is one of the frequent floated trains.
Air: Trivandrum International Airport is the nearest airport and is 67 kilometers from the temple.
