Saint Vallalar, in his Deivamanimalai, praises Lord Muruga of Kanda Kottam in Chennai. He hails Muruga as the One who has a flag with the emblem of a rooster. In Kandapuranam, written by Kachiappa Sivachariar, there is a verse which gives the entire story of Muruga in one verse, and in this verse, there is a reference to Muruga’s flag, said M.A. Manickavelu in a discourse. Kandapuranam talks of all the six abodes of Muruga. Of these, Thiruchendur is associated with the asura Soorapadman. It was at Tiruchendur that Muruga’s special flag came into being, and this was due to Muruga’s victory against the demon Soorapadman.
Soorapadman, along with his brothers, tormented the celestials. It was imperative that Soorapadman be killed. But before that task could be accomplished, his brothers Tarakasura and Krauncha had to be killed. The demon Tarakasura had an elephant face, and the demon Krauncha was in the form of a mountain. Lord Muruga destroyed the two asuras, and then fought Soorapadman. The fighting between Muruga and Soorapadman was intense, and finally Muruga used His spear (vel) to kill Soorapadman. The spear of Muruga is special and significant, because it was given to Him by none other than Goddess Parvati Herself. But Soorapadman, upon being killed, reappeared, this time in the form of a mango tree. Lord Muruga used His spear to split the tree into two halves. One half became a peacock, and served as Muruga’s vahana. The other half became a rooster, and this became the emblem on Muruga’s flag.
The vanquishing of Soorapadman is enacted every year in Tiruchendur, culminating in the slaying of Soorapadman. The Soorasamhara festival of Thiruchendur draws huge crowds every year.
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