Suchindram Anjaneyar Hanuman Temple Sucheendram, Kanyakumari, TamilNadu

The Suchindram Anjaneyar Temple is located in the town of Suchindram, which is south east to the district capital of Nagercoil and few kilometres away from the town of Kanyakumari. This temple is well known for its cultural richness and a huge fortress known as Gopuram.

This temple was built in the 17th century and is famous for its sculptures that were carved by the best artisans of that era. Outside the temple, is a statue of the Lord Hanuman which is 22 feet tall. This statue is carved from a single block of granite. As per old historical accounts, this statue was buried in 1740 AD due to the fear of an attack from the Tipu Sultan and was abanadoned. It was retrieved in 1930 and was open to public viewing.

According to one of the legends linked to this shrine, Anasuya, Atri Maharishi's wife was known for her immaculacy and her affection to him. She could execute a number of wondrous tasks just by sprinkling a few drops of 'paatha theertham' in order to bring monsoons to a scorched part of land or to mutate objects as per her wishes.When the three Devis, namely, Goddesses Lakshmi, Saraswathy and Parvathy heard about the powers this woman possessed through Sage Naradha they were curious to know if she was actually that devoted. They asked their husbands Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, to test Anasuya's affection towards her husband. The three of them transformed into old beggars and went to the monastery where Anasuya resided and asked her for money. When she was going to provide them with food they told her they had pledged that they could not accept money from a clothed person. Since it was considered immoral to not give money to the beggars she prayed to God after which she sprinkled a few droplets of the 'paatha theertham' onto them, after which they were instantly transformed into infants after which she removed her clothes and provided them with food. When the Goddesses came to know of the incident that took place, they begged Anasuya to grant them 'maankalya biksha' and to return their husbands back to them. Anasuya handed over the three infants over to them. Then, Anasuya prayed to God, after which the three infants were immediately transformed to their original selves. They admitted that Anasuya was indeed the chastest woman on earth, thus the Thrimoorthy was represented by the presence of a Linga at Suchindram;Brahma is represented at the base; the middle part represents Vishnu and the top part: Shiva.

The prime attraction of the temple is a humongous statue of Lord Hanuman and “vada mala” pooja is special for this Hanuman effigy. The statue is about eighteen feet tall and represents 'visuvaroopam'. This temple can be noted to be a fine example of South Indian architecture and in this temple one can find a 'Linga' that represents Shiva, Vishnu & Brahma for being the supreme diety.The temple has many sculptures. 'Alankara mandapam' which is situated next to the arctic passageway, comprises of four large pillars that are formed by a couple of smaller beams, all of which are engraved from an individual stone. The statue of Hanuman and the musical pillars are the prime attractions of the temple.

There are two important celebrations that take place every year; one during the months of December and January. There is another celebrated in the months of April and May.

APART FROM force majeure INCIDENTS, ALL SATURDAYS, ALL SUNDAYS, CHRISTMAS-NEW YEAR WEEK (24TH DECEMBER TO 2ND JANUARY), 14TH & 15TH JANUARY, NATIONAL HOLIDAYS (26TH JANUARY, 14TH APRIL, 15TH AUGUST, 2ND OCTOBER), 9 DAYS NAVARATRI, DIWALI WEEK,

WE CAN ARRANGE SERVICES ON BLACKOUT DAYS ALSO, SUBJECT TO GUEST TOLERATING HEAVY CROWDS AT TEMPLE