Karkuvel Ayyanar Temple

Overview

Karkuvel Ayyanar is a regional male deity whose worship is popular in the state of Tamil Nadu. The Karkuvel ayyanar temple is situated in the Therikudiyiruppu village, near Kayamozhi in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, India. This temple lies at a distance of just 14 kilometer from Thiruchendur and is approximately 500–1000 years old. The main festival in Karkuvel Ayyanar Temple is the "Kallar Vettu” a huge crowd gathers at this place to celebrate this festival. The temple is surrounded by red sand. This ayyanar temple is in located on the western part of the village Therikudiyiruppu which is near the famous Thiruchendur temple.

About The Deity

The primary deity of this temple is Ayyanar who is seen here along with his wives Poornam and Porkamalam. There are several other local deities in this temple such as the Udhiramadan, Malayamman, Ivar Raja, Vanniya Raja, Vannichi, Pechiyamman, Ponirulapar etc.

Legend and Stories

Once upon a time, this region was ruled by a Pandya king named Athi Veera Rana Soora Pandyan. He had a minister called Ayyanar, who is believed to be the avatar of Lord Shiva and Vishnu’s son.

There was a unique mango tree in this kingdom, near a pond which yielded only one fruit per year. It was a believed that consuming this fruit would give divine powers. Hence the king is said to have designated security guards to safeguard this tree and its fruit. A pious widow lived in the village who used to take water from the pond next to this tree daily for her personal use. One day, the sacred mango had fallen into her pot the previous night when she had placed it next to the tree. The old women carried the pot home without knowing that the mango had fallen into her pot. Next day morning the security guards started searching for the fruit. When they tried to enter the widow’s house, Ayyanar told them not to enter. The king on knowing about this declined his request and ordered the security guard to search the lady’s house. The security guards ended up finding the divine mango in the widow’s house and thus the king wanted to punish her. He pronounced death sentence to the lady for stealing but again his Minister Aayyanar is said to have supported the old lady saying she was innocent. The old widow was furious that she had been accused wrongly and hence cursed that the entire kingdom be burned down. Ayyanar was the only one to have escaped her wrath. Later he is said to have entered a Karkuva tree and merged with it.

Several centuries later, the village was rebuilt. Whenever the load bearing bulls tried to cross the Karkuva tree, they were said to fall down. So the villagers decided to cut the roots of the tree. When they tried to chop down the tree, blood started oozing from it. Then a voice from the tree told them that Ayyanar was living in the tree. So the villagers built a temple for him and started calling the God Karkuvel Ayyanar. He graces in this temple along with his wives Poornam and Porkamalam ( Poorna and Pushkala, the wives of Sastha).

It is said that a thief stole the ornaments of Ayyanar’s consorts during its construction and became blind immediately on stealing. He was also beheaded by the Vanniya Raja. The local people were informed about this by Ayyanar to whom the villagers pleaded for bringing back the thief to life. Heeding to their request, Ayyanar is said to have brought him back alive. Later, this thief was also considered a sub deity of this temple. Even today, it is said that no theft takes place within the boundaries of the village since it is believed that Sri Ayyanar protects this territory.

Festivals

On the last three days of the tamil month of Karthigai, (November-December) a grand festival is celebrated commemorating the beheading of the robber called the “Kallar Vettu”. The first two days of this festival is dedicated to Ayyanar who is a vegetarian deity. As part of this festival celebration, the folklore of Ayyanar is presented as Vilu Pattu (bow music). After this, the priests of the fifteen subsidiary deities bring items from the temple fair. Three hands full of these items are gifted to these musicians.

Later a red coloured coconut is kept over a rope symbolizing Ayyanar and is cut. Previously, there was a practice of cutting the coconut kept over the Samiyadi of Ayyanar. Villagers prepare a dish called Pongal in front of the Ayyanar temple as their offering. On the third day, animals are sacrificed for pleasing the subsidiary gods of this temple. The day of Panguni Uthram (March-April) is also celebrated as a revered festival.

Pooja Timing

POOJA DETAILS
Kaalasanthi Pooja	09:30 A.M
Uchikala Pooja	01:00 P.M
Sayaratchai	06:00 P.M

Significance

All Wednesdays and Saturdays are considered special days at this Ayyanar temple. The subsidiary deity Pechiamman in this temple is known to bless childless couple with children and Vanniya Raja is worshipped to get rid of the ill effects caused by black magic.

How To Reach Karkuvel Ayyanar Temple, Therikudiyiruppu

Airport

The Tuticorin Airport located at Vaahaikulam, Tuticorin is the nearest airport which is about 50 km away. Madurai and Thiruvananthapuram Airports are situated about 190 and 200 kms respectively from this place.

Railways

The nearest railway stations are the Tiruchendur and Kurumbur stations, which are situated at the distance of 10 kms each.

Road

The Tiruchendur bus station is the nearest, about 10 kms from this village.

Temple Address

Arulmigu Karkuvel Ayyanar Temple,
Therikudi iruppu(Post), Kuthirai Mozhi Village,
Thiruchendur Taluk, Thoothukudi district,
Tamil Nadu, Pincode - 628 228.