Suchindram, The Place where Indra got purified

Although, the Suchindram and famous Suchindram Sthanumalaya  Perumal Temple is located in Tamil Nadu, it was a part of Kerala earlier. The area was under the rule of Travancore Kings once and it has a significant place in the history of Travancore. This temple is marked in history as the place where the test of honesty has been conducted by the Kings. If someone comes under suspicion of theft or any other criminal activity, the person will be brought to this temple. Then a huge vessel will be placed in front of him filled with boiling ghee. The suspect should dip his or her hands inside the hot ghee and if he or she got burned, it is decided that the person is the culprit.

This practice has been followed for many years till Swathi Thirunal abolished it. Actually, the harlequin of King’s court was behind such a move. Once, some of the royal jewelry has missed and everybody pointed fingers to the harlequin. He denied the allegation and told that he is ready to take a test at Suchindram Temple. When all, including the King, was waiting outside, the chief priest of the temple came out with a vessel full of hot ghee. The priest was holding the vessel with a piece of cloth in order to prevent his hands from the heat. Then the harlequin shouted firmly that it was the priest who took the ornaments from the palace. He argued further that if it was not the priest, why he should hold the vessel with a cloth. If he is innocent, his hands will not get affected by the heat. Sensing the logic in the argument, Swathi Thirunal, the King of Travancore stopped that barbarian practice.

This temple is only one temple in India, where the divine powers of the trinity, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva are presented in a single idol. And it is believed that many great saints including Agasthya, Vyasa, Vasishta, etc have visited this temple and worshiped the divine trinity. There are two legends behind the origin of this temple.

In one of them, Saint Athri, along with his wife Anasuya went to the Himalayas and underwent severe penance. Pleased with their devotion, Lord Vishnu appeared in front of them and asked them to go towards the south and to get settled near the Pranja Theertham in Gyanaranyam. He advised them to lead a family living there. According to his instruction, both of them went to Gyanaranyam (It was the old name for Suchindram) and started living there. Once, Saint Athri had to go to Brahma Loka to participate in a Yagna. At that time the holy trinities, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva decided to test Anasuya. They appeared in front of her in the disguise of old Brahmins and requested her to give them alms. When she turned inside to bring something, they insisted that she should serve them food without wearing any clothes. They also told her that if she is not ready to do it, they will not accept the alms and will go back.

She was an intelligent lady. She went inside and took a few drops of holy water kept by Saint Athri for some rituals and sprayed it on the old men after murmuring some holy hymns. Suddenly they all turned to be small kids. Then she fed them milk and food without wearing any clothes. At the same time, Saraswathi, Lakshmi, and Parvathy, the wives of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva respectively, came to know about the fate of their husbands. They came to Gyanaranya and narrated the whole thing to Athri and requested her to save their husbands. She expressed her inability and asked them to wait until Athri came back from Brahma Loka. Three Goddesses spent the whole time in meditation near the Pranja Theertham till Athri came back. The present-day festival in the Tamil Month Markazi (November-December) is being celebrated to commemorate the meditation of goddesses. When Atari came back, he came to know everything. He asked his wife to bring a few more drops of holy water and spray over the kids. When she did that the holy trinities regained their original shape. Quite happy with the incident, the trinities asked Saint and his wife to ask for some boons. They asked them to be present at the premises all the time. Suddenly they created three stone pillars and placed one above the other. Then the trinities told them that the base one is Brahma, the middle one is Vishnu and the top one is Shiva. They assured the saint and his wife that their divine power will be in this pillar shaped idol in the above-said order and asked them to worship it regularly. Even now, the same idol is being used here.

The second legend is connected with Indra, the king of demigods. Once, Indra was going through the skyways, he saw Ahalya, wife of Saint Gowtham watering the plants in their compound. Attracted with her physique and beauty, Indra started developing lust. He decided to enjoy the beauty and youthfulness of Ahalya at any cost. Once he came to their Ashram before the dawn and howled as if a cock. Saint Gowtham mistook it as that of an original cock and thought the sun has risen. He went to have a bath in the river.  Then Indram entered the Ashram in the disguise of Saint Gowtham and had sex with Ahalya. Gowtham realized that it was still the night as soon as he reached on the banks of the river and hence he returned. When he returned he saw both Indra and Ahalya in the compromising position. He cursed Indra to have a penis all over his body as he did a sin due to his uncontrollable lust. Similarly, he cursed his wife also to become a rock. When pleaded, she got relief as the saint blessed her that Lord Sri Ram will visit her during Threthayuga and will give her salvation.

Indra, who became an ugly figure with a penis all over the body due to the curse, went to Gyanaranya and underwent penance there for years. At the end of it, holy trinities appeared in front of him and removed all the ugliness from his body. Thus Indra got purified. The place where Indra got purified became popular as Suchindram (suchi means purification). On the request of Indra, holy trinities transferred their divine powers to a single stone and that is the idol being worshipped here even today.