A recent visit to a temple at Oddachatram ( Tamil Nadu) near Dindigul was really intersting and amusing.The God in this temple is Kuzhandai velappar (infant Muruga) also known as Mittai Murugan, a lover of candy. I was really surprised to see the interesting ritual in the temple where chocolates and candies were offered to God. The story related to the temple goes like this..........
A certain devotee prayed to God for an offspring and when his wish was fulfilled he offered worship to the Lord here and distributed chocolates among his relatives who accompanied him.That night Lord appeared in his dream and asked why He was not offered any candy. Immediately the devotee rushed to the temple and made his offerings of candy. Since then worshipping God by offering candy became a routine here. It was really a pleasant sight to see this ritual being performed by devotees.There are counters outside the temple to sell candies.
We were also offered chocolates by one of the devotees who had come with the family to celebrate their child's birthday. This temple is attached to the famous Palani Andavar temple which is 20 Kms. from here and is on NH 209. This temple is quite small but has 3 sub-shrines and has beautiful paintings on the inner walls of the temple.
How to reach- Dindigul is the nearest railway station. The nearest airport is at Coimbatore which is at a distance of 100 Kms.
Many buses ply from Palani as well as Dindigul to Oddanchatram. The temple is just 5 Kms, from the Oddanchatram town.
Accomodation : For stay - It is better to stay in Dindigul or Coimbatore.
Location map is given along with the labels.
