Six Abodes of Murugan
Arupadai Veedu — The 6 Abodes of Murugan
आरुपडै वीडु — मुरुगन के छह धाम
The six battle camps of Lord Murugan across Tamil Nadu, praised by the poet Nakkeerar in the Thirumurugatrupadai — the foremost pilgrimage of Tamil Shaivism.
Shrines
6
on the route
Arupadai Veedu — literally 'the six battle camps' — are the six principal temples of Murugan (Kartikeya, Skanda, Subramanya) in Tamil Nadu. The sequence is set by the Thirumurugatrupadai, a Sangam-era poem by Nakkeerar that guides a devotee from shrine to shrine. Each abode marks a moment in Murugan's story: the place he married Deivanai, the shore where he worshipped Shiva after defeating Surapadman, the hill where he stood as a renunciate, the site where he taught the meaning of Om to his own father, the temple where he married Valli, and the forest grove of his beloved. Together they cover the length of the Tamil country, from Madurai in the south to Tiruvallur in the north.
The route
6 shrines, in order
Step 1 → 6