The Hindu’s Faith Column – Tiruchendur Murugan’s sport

The Supreme Being has manifested in various avatars on earth as a mortal; He sends saints and acharyas to guide devotees and He himself ‘resides’ in various temples as archa murthi, so that a devotee can focus on that deity and attain God, said P. Swaminathan in a discourse.

The bedrock of attaining God is faith. He will go out of his way to protect his protégé. Our spiritual history is replete with examples of God coming to the aid of a devotee. The most famous example is Prahlad. A lesser-known example is that of the temple priests at Tiruchendur temple in the 19th Century.

Tiruchendur, one of the six abodes of Lord Subrahmanya (Muruga), is today renowned for its year-long festivals to the deity and its wealth, both material and spiritual. The temple attracts both the rich and the poor. In 1803, S.R. Lushington, the then Collector of Tirunelveli, arrived at the temple to check its coffers. He found a temple priest continuously fanning the deity ceremoniously presiding at the Vasantha Mandapam. As someone who did not have faith in the Hindu pantheon, the British Collector mocked the priest, saying, “I have heard that a man who runs will sweat. In fact, I have seen it myself. Does your metal statue also sweat?” he asked, derisively.

Without much ado, the temple priests removed the ceremonial dresses on the deity and draped a thin cotton cloth forthwith. The priest stopped fanning the deity. Soon, sweat started beading on Muruga and water (sweat) began to drip from the deity, pooling around the ground, forming a rivulet. The Collector watched with disbelief. Realising that Muruga was sporting with him and protecting his devotees, the priests, the Collector prostrated to him. He became a Muruga devotee from that point onwards, donating silver articles to the temple, as an atonement for his earlier disbelief. A silver jug bearing his name and donated by him is still in use in the temple today. Muruga proved to everyone that He is not a mere idol but a great protector.