Sri Marthandeswarar Temple Timings:
Morning Timings: 7:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Evening Timings: 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Marthandeshwarar Temple is located in a small village Karungulam near Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu,. This village is located on the banks of the river Tamrabharani. There are two temples in the village, one is Lord Venkateshwara Temple on a hilltop and another is a Shiva Temple at the village entrance.
Marthandeshwarar Temple is also at the entrance of the village, and so the village got its name Marthandam Karungulam. The speciality of the temple is here one can see Navagrahas and their wives. In Agasthiar Naadi Jothidam, some people are asked to worship these Navagrahas with their Consorts, which indicates that this temple is very old. This village is surrounded by a few water reservoirs and the water from these reservoirs is blackish and has therefore acquired this fantastic name.
Lord Shiva is presiding deity and he is known in the name of Marthandeshwarar, is slightly larger Shiva Linga. The east facing temple does not have a tower. Puranas says, Lord Surya (the Sun God) constructed this Lord Shiva Temple. The other typical features such as flag staff, Bali peetham and Nandi are all located facing towards the east facing main shrine. The Goddess Kulasekhara Nayaki is found in a separate south facing shrine in the prakara.
Entrance Dakshinamurti is found as the niche idol in the prakara. The idols of Surya, Chandra, Bhairava, Saneeswara and Adhikara Nandi are located in the prakara. The sub shrines of Ganesha, Subramanya and Chandikeshwarar are also found in the prakara. The maha mandapa has a sub shrine full of Utsava (metal) idols of Nataraja Sivakami and other deities. At the entrance of the maha mandapa, the idol of Anugnai Vinayaka is found. Near the flag staff, the idols of Ganesha and Subramanya are located. There are five Shiva Lingas along with Ambal in the prakara. They are called as Pancha Lingas. There is another important shrine in this temple which is dedicated to Mahalingar and his consort Dharmasamvardhini. The idols of Ganesha and Nandi are also found in this shrine.
The highlight of the temple is Navagrahas, the nine planets. Surya is found with his two consorts. All other eight planets are found along with their respective consorts. It is very rare to find planets with their wives.
The details of planets and their consorts are given below.
1) Surya – Usha and Chaya
2) Chandra – Rohini
3) Mangal (Sevvai) – Shakti
4) Budha – Ila
5) Guru – Tara
6) Shukra – Sukirti
7) Shani – Neela
8) Rahu – Simhi
9) Ketu – Chitralekha
Karungulam Sri Marthandeswarar Temple Location:
The temple is just a few mtrs off the Tiruchendur main road and is visible from the road itself. It is near Sydunganallur and buses to Srivaikuntam also stop at Karungulam. The temple hill is on the right side while coming from Sydunganallur and on the left while coming from Tiruchendur side. The nearest railhead is Tirunelveli. It is located 42 Kms towards west from District headquarters Thoothukudi. Karungulam is about 15 Km from Tirunelveli, towards Thiruchendur. It is located next to Adichanallur on the way to Thiruchendur, the famous temple of Lord Muruga.
Karungulam Sri Marthandeswarar Temple Address & Contact Details:
Sri Marthandeswarar Temple,
Karungulam,
Tirunelveli,
Tamil Nadu.
Phone: 0462-2334474; 0462-264190; 0462-264116.
