Thread by @TheBrokenTusk

*The tale of Tiruchendur Murugan*
Tirumalai (1623-1659 A.D.) of Madura Nayak dynasty, eager to have foreign trade relations,concluded a treaty with the Portuguese for pearls in 1639 A.D. The pearl fishery which employed the Paravas of the coast, brought them enormous wealth.
(/1)

A treaty with the Dutch was concluded in 1646 by terms of which they were allowed to build a fort at Kayalpattanam. This brought them into conflict with the Portuguese. They seized a Dutch boat laden with goods & drove the Dutch out of their fort & destroyed it.
(/2)

The Dutch Governor came to the mainland in 10 boats, landed at Manappar, seized the Portuguese Church at Virarampattanam, occupied the Temple at Tiruchendur, & fortified the latter with guns & seized the gold. The locals made sev­eral fu­tile at­tempts to regain the tem­ple.
(/3)

The people appealed to Tirumalai Nayak, who sent word to the Dutch to vacate the temple & re-imburse their loss at Kayalpattinam. The request was unheeded. The Dutch marched on Tuticorin, ravaged it, & demanded 40,000 reals as a ransom to quit the place.
(/4)

The amount was also pressed for payment but only a small amount could be raised. The people at Tiruchendur gathered a force consisting of 4 elephants, 50 to 60 horses, & 500 to 600 men to oust the Dutch out of the temple. The attempt was unsuccessful with 50 men martyred.
(/5)

In 1648 the Dutch left Tiruchendur, taking with them all the temple icons, & demanding an enhanced ransom of 100,000 reals. They carried away the icons of Shanmukhar and Siva Natarajar, thinking that they were made of gold.
(/6)

Ini­tial at­tempts to melt the murtis for metal proved fu­tile, & they car­ried away the murtis by sea.
(/7)

How­ever, there was a massive cyclone, & the ves­sel was in danger of being submerged.
(/8)

Fright­ened that the Murtis had cursed them & caused the bad weather, the Dutch sailors threw away the murti at sea.
(/9)

The idols sunk to the bottom of the sea. Were they lost forever?
(/10)

No sooner did the Dutch heave the icons overboard than the sea turned calm as suddenly as it had turned violent. The Dutch were awestruck and marveled at this miracle.
(/11)

The loss of the idol was communicated to the local administrator of the Nayakkan ruler at Tirunelveli.A great devotee, Vadamalaiappa Pillaiyyan was deeply affected & ordered for a replica.

In1653, as the replica was ready, & enroute to Tiruchendur to be installed, he had a dream

Acting to the advice conveyed to him by Bhagvan Subramanya, he put out to sea and followed the instructions.
(/13)

In the dream he had been informed that the idols would be found at the spot where a lime fruit would be found floating, and the place marked by the circling overhead of a kite, the bird of Vishnu.
(/14)

The idols were, of course, found submerged underwater, right where the Dutch had dropped them.
(/15)

Vadamalaiappa Pillai recovered the original icon exactly as foreseen in his dream. The people rejoice and return the icons to the Temple.
(/16)

Vadamalaiappa Pillai reinstalled the original icon in the temple in the year 1653. The replacement icon was then consecrated in the shrine of Tiruppirantîsvarar alias Venku Patcha Kovil situated east of Palamcottah (known as Murugan Kurichi).
(/17)

Vadamalaiappa Pillai was greatly struck by the Lord's grace in giving him this great relief, in memory of which he erected a mandapa near Thoondikai Vinayakar Kovil at Tiruchendur in his name.
(/18)

This was endowed largely for the performance of a Kattalai for Subrahmaniam on the 7th days of Masi & Avani festivals. An inscription at the mandapa commemorates the entire incident.
(/19)

Sources:
1) Website of the Śrī Subrahmanya Swami Devasthanam.
tiruchendur.org/dutch.htm

2) Encounters on the Opposite Coast: The Dutch East India Company and the Nayaka State of Madurai in the 17th Century
by Markus Vink, published 2015. pp.340-350
books.google.co.in/books?id=SaW8C…

(/20)