Arupadai Veedu

The Six Abodes of Murugan (Tamil: Arupadai veedu) are six temples of Lord Murugan in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The god is known by different names. These include Kartikeya, Kanda, Vadivela and Murugan. The six most sacred abodes of Murugan were written about in Tamil sangam literature. They are mentioned in "Thirumurugatrupadai" by Nakkeerar and in "Thiruppugazh" by Arunagirinathar. The six abodes are Thiruparankundram, Tiruchendur, Palani, Swamimalai, Thiruthani and Pazhamudircholai.

Murugan
The story of Lord Murugan is written about in Skanda Purana. Legend says that the demon Soorapadman tortured the Devas. They complained to Lord Vishnu and Brahma.  Kamadeva was sent to wake Lord Shiva, who later gave birth to Kartikeya. Karthikeya killed Soorapadman and saved the devas. Muruga is shown as the god of love and war. Kartikeya married Valli and Deivayanai .

In Tamil literature five types of lands are explained. They are Kurinji (mountains), Mullai (forest), Marutham (agricultural), Neithal (coastal) and Palai (desert). Each land types has a defferent god. Lord Muruga is a leader of the Kurinji region.

Religious importance
Arunagirinathar was a 15th-century Tamil poet born in Tiruvannamalai. When he was young, he was a rioter and seducer of women. After ruining his health, he tried to kill himself. He did this by jumping from the northern tower of Annamalaiyar Temple. He was saved by the god Murugan. He became a staunch devotee and composed Tamil hymns glorifying Murugan, the most notable being Thirupugazh. Arunagirinathar went to many Murugan temples. On his way back to Tiruvannamalai, he visited Palani. He sung songs about Swaminathaswamy.Zvelebil 1991, p. 53 Tiruparamkundram is considered the first of the six abodes. This is the only temple where abishekam is performed for Vel instead of Lord Murugan. Palani is considered the most prominent abodes of Lord Muruga.

Traditions
One of the main traditions of the six temples, is the tonsuring of devotees. They removed their hair to be like the Palani deity. Another tradition is the anointing of the head of the deity's idol with sandalwood paste. This is done at the end of the day before the temple closes. The paste is said to get medicinal properties. It is given to devotees, as rakkāla chandaṇam. 

References

Category:Temples in Tamil Nadu
Category:Hinduism