A Boon for the Childless!

Lord Muruga is considered the bestower of boons for childless couples.

One among the many temples for Him in the South of India where people throng in their hundreds for fulfilling their various wishes, including blessings for a child is the Chennimalai Muruga temple in Kongu naadu in South India.

Chennimalai has easy access from Erode, where we live and Coimbatore. It is about 26 kilometers away from Erode and one can go to the temple by car or by town buses that are available in plenty.

The temple lies about 7 kilometers south of Ingoor which has the nearest railway station. Chennimalai belongs to Perundurai in Erode district and the main town of Perundurai lies about 3 kilometers from Chennimalai. There are devasthanom buses that we can board to the temple and from it. The buses wait at the temple while the devotees pray to the Lord and then transport them to the main bus stop or railway station.

A little on the bypass road to Chennimalai from Erode lies a town called Vellode where there is a bird sanctuary. We stopped at the sanctuary and in a light pleasant drizzle we were able to see hundreds of birds at the treetops. There is a bund with a wide expanse of water on the other side and trees abound on the other bank of the water. We could see the birds only with binoculars supplied by the security man on guard. There is a watch tower from where two men politely asked us not to take photographs.

'The birds fly in as far away from Australia, lay their eggs here and go away,' said the elderly security man on guard.

We watched the birds for awhile and then decided to leave and continue our pilgrimage to Chennimalai afraid the increasing raindrops might play spoil sport and force us to return home.

The temple for Chennimalai Muruga lies on top of the Chennimalai hill. As we drive along the road towards the town of Chennimalai that surrounds the hill, we can see the blue expanse of the hill rising up in front of our eyes with the temple rearing up like a pinnacle on the top.

We pay a toll of fifteen rupees for the car at the bottom of the hill. (It is best to buy Archana plates at the bottom of the hill itself, for there is no archana shop at the top. There is only two shops selling Prasad, cassettes, books and gift articles)

And then begin our pleasant climb up the hill with many sharp u-turns or hairpin bends that wind up and up the hill. The town of Chennimalai grows smaller and smaller as we climb up, though the hill is not so tall, being only 600 meters above sea level. The air turns fragrant and the greenery lush and cool as we climb up. The hill we learnt later abounds with rare medicinal plants and herbs and even breathing the air here is said to cure many ills.

The temple for Lord Muruga or 'Kurinjhi Andavar' has been praised in the sacred hymns of Kundrathoradal. The hill of Chennimalai in the holy Devangiri script is called 'Siragiri'or 'Sigaragiri', 'Chenniyangiri' and 'Pushapagiri.' The hill rests on the banks of the Noyal river, which was also called Kanchima nadhi or river Kanchimai.

The temple is being renovated and there are many sculptors sitting along the way chiseling out blocks of stone and cement. We park the car at the space allotted to it and then walk up the temple pathway to the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Muruga.

After offering prayers devotees circumambulate the main shrine to climb the 50 or less steps at the back to the shrines of Valli and Deivayani, who are called 'Amirthavalli' and 'Sundaravalli.' The walk up the steps is very pleasant, as we can see the hill path sloping down to the left as we go up. There are many bushes and wild trees and the air blows very breezy and invigorating.

Devotees throng to the temple with many believes that are special to the Lord of Chennimalai. People who do pradakshina of the God are said to be relieved of the ill effects of Sevvai dosha.

Childless couples come to the temple after New Moon to observe Sasthi Vratta, and there are many instances where the couples who prayed here for a child, returned with a baby in their arms to thank the Lord.

Balan Devaraya Swamigal composed his first Skanda Sasthi Kavasam here. It is one of the holiest and most renowned slokas for Lord Muruga and devotees believe that chanting the prayer in this temple will keep them healthy and free of evils.

Devotees also believe that no task however important can be undertaken by them without Chennimalai Muruga's permission. People who plan to build a house or fix an alliance for their child offer an archana to the Lord and pray at a special Sirasappu Utharavu Kettal (asking for orders). If the utharavu (order) is positive, they go ahead with their plans. If it turns negative, they drop their plans.

On the southern side of the hill is a spring that gets active only once in twelve years especially during drought. The Ganesh who sits near the spring is called 'Mamanga Theertha (water once in twelve years) Vinayaka.' People pray to this Vinayaga for fertility in their farms.

The temple was built by Saravana Munivar, whose tomb is found at the top of the hill. It is not known when the temple was built but by records, a minister of the Mysore Devaraja Udaiyar Dynasty donated money for external construction of the temple in 1654. So, surely the temple must be older than that.

A Boon for the Childless!

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