Arupadai Veedu
ஆறுபடை வீடு
6 temples in the tradition. Listed in the order tradition follows. The note at the foot of the page says how much of that order a text actually fixes.
In the traditional order
- 1
Thiruparankundram
திருப்பரங்குன்றம்
Thiruparankundram, Tamil Nadu
Where the guide's directions begin. The Tirumurugatrupadai opens by praising Murugan's radiance, his kadambu garland and his consort Deivayanai, then tells how he destroyed Surapadman when the demon became an inverted…
- 2
Tiruchendur
திருச்செந்தூர்
Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu
Six faces, twelve arms. In the poem's second section Murugan rides a bull elephant hung with gold and bells. Nakkeerar describes each of his six faces and the task it performs — dispelling spiritual darkness,…
- 3
Palani
பழனி
Palani, Tamil Nadu
The fruit of wisdom. Narada brings Shiva a fruit of wisdom, and Shiva promises it to whichever of his sons first circles the world. Murugan sets off on his peacock; Ganesha circles his parents, saying they…
- 4
Swamimalai
சுவாமிமலை
Swamimalai, Tamil Nadu
The son who taught his father. Shiva has forgotten the meaning of the Pranava, Om, because of a curse from the sage Bhrigu. He calls his son Subrahmanya, who agrees to teach him on condition that Shiva learns it…
- 5
Tiruttani
திருத்தணி
Tiruttani, Tamil Nadu
The god who dances on every hill. The poem's fifth section describes a hill festival. Hunters dance the kuravai to a small drum; women with flowers in their hair move like peacocks. At the centre is the Velan, the…
Traditions identify this place differently — see “Other identifications” below.
- 6
Pazhamudircholai
பழமுதிர்சோலை
Alagar Koil, Tamil Nadu
The grove of ripe fruits. The poem's last section opens on festival worship across the hills — offerings, drums, songs, red protective threads. The guide gives the seeker Murugan's many names and tells him what…
Plan the circuit
Side by side, so you can see the season, the walking and the nearest station for each. Where we have not confirmed something, the cell says so. Always check dates and conditions before you travel — especially with elders.
Not yet confirmed for any of these temples: main months.
- Thiruparankundram
- Nearest station / airport
- Madurai Junction · Madurai Airport, Avaniyapuram
Not yet confirmed: darshan hours, altitude, walking and access.
- Tiruchendur
- Nearest station / airport
- Tiruchendur railway station · Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) Airport, Vagaikulam
Not yet confirmed: darshan hours, altitude, walking and access.
- Palani
- Darshan hours
- 6:00 am – 8:00 pm
- Altitude
- 457 m
- Walking and access
- Four ways up: the stairway, the longer elephant path, a haulage winch (290 m, about 8 minutes) and a rope car (323 m, about 3 minutes). The devasthanam gives winch hours of 05:20–21:00 (from 03:20 on festival days) and rope car hours of 07:00–21:00 with a 13:30–14:30 break; the district page gives different rope car hours (07:00–12:30 and 13:30–17:00). Neither source says anything about wheelchair access.
- Nearest station / airport
- Palani railway station · Madurai Airport
- Swamimalai
- Nearest station / airport
- Kumbakonam railway station · Tiruchirappalli International Airport
Not yet confirmed: darshan hours, altitude, walking and access.
- Tiruttani
- Altitude
- 213 m
- Nearest station / airport
- Tiruttani railway station · Chennai International Airport
Not yet confirmed: darshan hours, walking and access.
- Pazhamudircholai
- Nearest station / airport
- Madurai Junction · Madurai Airport, Avaniyapuram
Not yet confirmed: darshan hours, altitude, walking and access.
Other identifications
Some places in this circuit are identified differently by different traditions or scholars. Each view is given; we do not settle it.
Tiruttani
Identified by: Later tradition and modern editors, who print Tiruttani parenthetically for the fifth slot.
The other view
The text's own word is Kuṉṟutōṟāṭal, which is a generic term for the many hills carrying shrines of Murugan rather than any single place. No published dissent from the Tiruttani identification was found, but the text does not supply it.
Where this list and its order comes from
- Hymn: Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai of Nakkīrar, section sequence across its 317 lines — Tirupparaṅkuṉṟam (1–77), Tiruccīralaivāy (78–125), Tiruvāviṉaṉkuṭi (126–176), Tiruvērakam (177–189), Kuṉṟutōṟāṭal (198–217), Pazhamudircholai (218–317). Part of the Pattuppāṭṭu anthology and counted in the Eleventh Tirumurai. The order is textual, not conventional. kaumaram.com · seen 2026-09-18
A note for the curious
The six slots follow the narrative sequence of the poem's sections. The modern temple identifications for slots 3, 4 and 5 are supplied by later tradition and by editors' parentheses, not by the text — slot 5 in particular names a category of hill shrines rather than a place.