Tirupporur is an old and quiet temple south of Chennai. Its name comes from por, war: tradition says that of Murugan's three great battles, this is where he fought in the sky.
What is special here
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Remembered as the place of the battle in the sky
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The image is held to be self-formed, found beneath a palm tree
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Restored in the seventeenth century by Chidambara Swamigal
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Worship is offered to a yantra, as the image itself is not bathed
Chapter 1
The battle in the sky
Tradition tells of Murugan fighting the asuras in three places: on the sea at Tiruchendur, on land at Tirupparankundram, and in the sky here at Tirupporur. The name carries the memory: por means war.
Today the temple is a calm place, set in a large courtyard with a five-tiered gateway tower. The fight is long over.
Chapter 2
The image under the palm
The temple had fallen into ruin when Chidambara Swamigal came here in the seventeenth century. Tradition says he found the image of Murugan buried beneath a palm tree, an image no one had carved, which appeared on its own.
He rebuilt the temple around it and wrote poems for this Murugan. His profile and his songs are in this app, and his lullaby for the god is one of the gentlest pieces in the library.
Chapter 3
Worship without bathing
Because the image is held to be self-formed, it is not given the usual abhishekam. Instead, the ritual bathing is offered to a sacred diagram, a yantra, set on a tortoise-shaped base.
Standing in the sanctum, Murugan holds the vel with the peacock beside him, and Valli and Deivanai have their own shrines nearby.
Stories told of this place
Our reflection: a place that was forgotten, found again by one person who cared. Tirupporur is worth the short drive from Chennai.
Our own retelling of the temple's history and traditions.