Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

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Early modern · Hindu · India

Kalugasalamoorthy Temple

Kalugumalai, Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu · 9.1494°, 77.7031°

Murugan (as Kazhugachalamurthi)PandyaRock-cut Dravidian
Sacred since
1700 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
18th c. halls on an early Pandya rock-cut core
Pandya

History & significance

A hill temple at Kalugumalai whose core is early Pandya rock-cut work, with its images installed and pillared halls added in the 18th century. It was long controlled by the Ettaiyapuram zamindar and is now run by the Tamil Nadu HR&CE board; its 1895 Panguni Uthiram procession was the flashpoint of a deadly caste riot.

Sthala katha — the legend

The sage Kalugumahamunivar, identified with Sampati the brother of Jatayu, is said to have helped Murugan against the demons Surapadman and Tarukasuran and to have won liberation here, giving the hill its name.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Pandya