பத்து மலை ஸ்ரீ சுப்பிரமணியர் கோயில்Batu Caves Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple

Sthala Mahātmyam

Batu Caves, set in a 400-million-year-old limestone massif at Gombak near Kuala Lumpur, is the foremost seat of Murugan worship in Malaysia and among the most important Tamil Hindu shrines outside India. The Tamil trader K. Thamboosamy Pillai, struck by the resemblance of the great cave mouth to Murugan's Vel, installed the murti of Sri Subramania Swamy in the Temple Cave in 1891, with Thaipusam celebrations beginning the following year. Pilgrims climb 272 steps, since repainted in vivid colours, to reach the cathedral-like cavern sanctum. Guarding the entrance stands a 42.7-metre golden statue of Murugan unveiled in 2006, the tallest Murugan image in the world. The site is the focal point of Malaysia's Thaipusam, when up to a million devotees gather over three days, many bearing kavadi and undergoing vows and body-piercing in fulfilment of prayers to the Lord who received the Vel from his mother. Chief festivals are Thaipusam and Panguni Uthiram.