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Sugavaneshwarar Temple

Salem has a rich historic heritage. Since, the ancient days, it has been ruled by lot of historic dynasties and has been witness to various momentous scenes which changed the course of history. These dynastic constructed various temples and forts in and around Salem. One of them is the Sugavaneshwarar temple.

Sugavaneshwarar temple is dedicated to the Lord Shiva. The main deity of this temple is the Lord Shiva in lingam form which is known as the Sukavaneswarar and his consort, Sri Swarnambikai Amman. The significance of this temple is the lingam portion of the deity is a little slanting. Also, there is a small cut on the top of the lingam. His consort Sri Swarnambikai Amman is depicted in a standing posture in what seems to be the separate sanctum. Also, in the main temple, you can see a metal urchava Vigraham of Sukavaneswara.

Sugavaneswarar Temple, Salem

As per the historians, this temple was constructed by Mamannan Sundara Pandiyan during 13th century.  As per Puranas, Ovvayaar worshipped Vinayakar in the temple and left for Kailayam in this temple. The temple also has various historical traces of the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas.

About Sugavaneshwarar Temple:

About the Sugavaneswarar Temple, SalemSugavaneshwarar temple is one of the historic temples in city. The entrance of the Sugavaneshwarar temple on the south side and the temple look towards the east. The Front Mandapam and the Thiru Nanthi Mandapam is located opposite the entrance of the temple. In the south side of tower entrance, Vinayagar is located.

The Deities of the temple are situated in south side, which include Vainavi,Varahi, ,Gowmari, Maheshwari, Mahenthiri and Samundi. Some deities such as Vinayagar or Irattai Vinayagar, Valanpuri, Thatchinamoorthy, Iyyapan are located in the west side of the temple. The above row of the deities is composed of Kasi Vishvanathar, GanGala Moorthy, Sarashvathi, Pancha Bootha Lingams, Gajalakshmi and Sesta Devigal. The north side includes Lord Murugan with Deivanai and Valli Temple.

Arulmigu Sugavaneshwarar is the Moolavar of this temple. The name of the Sugavaneshwarar is due to the fact that a parrot got his wish from this image of god. The other names of the Sugavaneshwarar are the Babanasar, Kili Vanathar, Nahisar, Pattesurar and Mummudinathar. The other name of Amman at this includes Maragathavalli, Sornambigai, Vinayagar, Patchivalli or Valampuri Vinayagar or Irattai Vinayagar. These gods are also known as Mummoorthigal of the temple.

Walls of the Sugavaneswarar Temple, salem

The special feature of this temple is the fact that in Navagraham, Raagu and Sevai has changed their places. Most of the people who worship in the temple, pray for the marriage and job. It should be noted that this temple’s Pathiri tree’s ThalaVirutcham is located in Nanthavanam.


History of Sugavaneshwarar Temple:

The temple commemorates and worships the image of Shiva, which was worshipped by the Suka Muni, a mythological sage and the king of parrots. It is also believed that the Avyaiyar, the Saint Poetess of Tamil Nadu, performed some miracles in this temple. It is also said that the monarchs of Chola, Pandya and Chera, the three great Tamil kingdoms visited this temple to attend the marriage of the adopted daughter of Avyaiyar.

History of Sugavaneswarar Temple

Some prominent Saivite Saint poets have also sung the glories of this temple. According to the historians, the temple dates back 2000 years ago in the Sangam period. There are many shrines in the temple. One of them is dedicated to the Swarnambika, the mother goddess. This shrine has ten types of inscriptions. The copies of those inscriptions are safely kept in the govt. records. These inscriptions are dated at 1888. The number of this inscription is from 42 to 51.


Architecture of the Sugavanashwarar Temple:

The temple carries the traces of the three great Tamil kingdoms such as the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas of the past and the Mysore dynasty. The temple is sprawled over two acres in the central part of the town. The temple gardens have hundreds of tall coconut and Vilwa trees. It also has different varieties of flowers which are used to worship the gods of the temple. As the temple goes back to the ancient days, you can find many historical statuettes and monuments in the temple. Thousands of people and devotees flock to the temple for worshipping the god and visit the exquisite architecture of the temple.

Architectuure of Sugavaneswarar Temple, Salem

The temple also has lot of beautiful mural painting of the gods in Southern Style, which are scattered throughout the temple and attract lot of visitors to the temple.


Various sub temple of Sugavaneshwarar Temple

Arulmigu Sugavaneshwarar temple has two sub temples which are And Arulmigu Kasi Vishwanathar Temple and Arulmigu Rajaganapathi Temple.

  • Arulmigu Rajaganapathi temple is located near Thernilai, Salem. Abhisegam and the daily procession for this temple is arranged from morning 6 am to night 10 pm. Ganapathy Yagam is celebrated every month on the day of theipirai" sathurthi and valarpirai.
  • Arulmigu Kasi Vishwanathar Temple is situated at 2nd Achragaram Street, Salem. The temple celebrates the New moon day, Full Moon day, Pirathosam and Kruthikai Sasti with the special poojas and abhisegam.  The temple celebrates Pairavar on the full moon day with special poojas. NIRAIMANI VIZHA is one of the big celebrations in this temple. On this day, Vilvaarchanai, Annaabhisegam and other 216 sangabhisegam were processed and it is celebrated every year by the temple.


Puja Timings of the Sugavaneshwarar Temple:

Like any other temple, Sugavaneshwarar temple also has some puja timing. The pujas are done by the pundits who are appointed for the worship. The puja times for this temple are as follows –
  1. Early Morning at 6 am
  2. Morning at 9 am
  3. Before noon at 11 am
  4. Evening at 5.30 pm
  5. Night at 8 pm
The pandits perform procession or kaala pooja for 5 times in a day.


Festivals of Sugavaneshwarar Temple:

The temple priests celebrate many festivals and special poojas are organized for the occasion. On every full moon day, Poora Nachtra and Krithikai, the temple priests organize the abhisegam procession and the special pooja for Amman. The temple prists also celebrates Sangadahara sathoorthi with special abhisega aarathanaikal for Vinayagar. The Sugavaneshwarar temple authorities also celebrate following festivals for the devotees and the visitors to the temple.

Different idols inside the Sugavaneswarar Temple, Salem
  • AAVANI: The temple authorities organize the special abhisegam for 33 Vinayagar Moorthikal inside the temple on the day of Vinyagar Sathurthi. On the fifth day, they organize the Thirukalyanam, Thiruvithiula for the Vallpai Ganapathy.
  • AANI: The temple authorities organize the abhisegam,purapadu for Nadarajar in month of Aani.
  • AADI: The temple priests celebrate AADI POORA festival for 7 days to worship Amman in Aadi month. The other festivals which are also celebrated include Kilivalanathar and Mukthi.
  • PURATAASI: In this month, the festivals which are celebrated in the temple include Navarathiri Vizha for 10 days. During this time, Ammayaar is shown in golu on every day.
  • AIPPASI: During this month, the festivals which are celebrated in the temple include Soora Samgharam and Kantharsasti. The Kantharsasti is celebrated by the temple priests for 6 days.
  • KARTHIKAI: The temple priests celebrate DEEPA festivals on the day of Kruthikai.
  • MAARKALI: The temple priests organize thirupaliyeluchi pooja procession every day of this month.  In addition to that, Thiruvathirai utchavam is celebrated in the temple for ten days. The first 7 days, the priests celebrate ANGURARPPANA" utchavam, the ninth day is celebrated as thirukkalyanam and thiruveethiula is taken for the procession around the temple. During this month, the priests also organize the abhisegam,purapadu for Nadarajar.
  • THAI: In this month, Pongal and Thai Poosam festivals are celebrated in the temple.  At the occasion of MAATUP PONGAl, the special pooja for NANTI is organized by the priests. The priests also organized special decoration for MUMMOORHTIKAL.


Services of the Sugavaneshwarar Temple:

The temple maintains the Mercy home and the library. The temple also maintains a Statue Safety Center or Aimpon thirumenkal for the nearby temples of the villages with air-conditioned rooms in Sugavaneshwarwar temple area. For devotees, the temple also maintains free toilet and bathroom facilities. The temple also has and maintains pure drinking water facilities for the devotees.

The temple also offers Annathana facility for 75 devotees on per day basis.


Scheme for Annadhanam:

  • Annadhanam:  Rs.1, 250/- for per day. For providing annadhanam  for devotees, you can deposit Rs.15,000 for a particular day in a year.
  • The donation to the temple is eligible for the deduction under the Section 80(G) IT Act.


How to reach Sugavaneshwarar Temple:

The Sugavaneshwarar temple is situated in the central part of the city behind the old bus stand of the city. If you are staying in the city, you can take taxi, auto or bus to visit Sugavaneshwarar temple. You can also take any type of private vehicles also for the visit.

Distance from Salem Airport – 22 km
Distance from Salem Railway Station – 12 km

Address of Sugavaneshwarar Temple:
Asst. Commissioner / Executive Officer
Arulmigu Sugavaneshwarar Swamy Thirukkoil
Swarnambigai Agraharam
Salem - 636001
Phone no.: 0427 245 0954
Temple Phone no.: 0427 225 4414
Website: www.sugavaneshwarartemple.tnhrce.in

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