Nagaraja Temple Nagercoil

Located in the Nagercoil town of Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, the ‘Nagaraja Temple’ is dedicated to the serpent king Vasuki. The presiding deity of this temple is the five-headed Naga God and is visited by hordes of devotees, especially on Sundays when special Pooja is performed offering milk and turmeric to the deity. The temple sees an uncountable footfall of people suffering from Naga Dosha during the Tamil month of Avani (August and September) when some distinct rituals are performed for 12 days.

According to folk tales and legends, once a village girl was cutting grass in the area when all of a sudden she noticed blood oozing out of her axe after accidentally hitting a stone. She hurriedly went to the village and brought few villagers here, out of which one villager recognized the stone as an idol of a five headed snake. Thereafter, the temple dedicated to Nagaraja was built with its walls made of mud and roof made of coconut leaves. The main sanctum of the temple still has these mud walls and thatched roof with the small stone idol of Nagaraja placed on the soil. The soil underneath the idol remains wet as it is believed that the blood is still oozing out of the deity till date. It is believed that this soil holds special powers and can cure any skin ailments; the soil is also given as prasadam to the visitors of the temple.

The architecture of the temple is quite simple with scores of sculptures and images of different snakes adorning the walls, trees and pond around. The main sanctum enshrines the deity and is guarded by two huge statues of five-headed serpents. Inside the temple premises, you will also find Shivlinga and idol of Vishnu in Anant Shayana position.

One of the very unique temples in India located amidst tranquil and peaceful settings, a visit here is sure to leave you with a blissful experience.