Spirituality

Munch Murugan temple, Kerala

Almost every Hindu Deity has one favourite food they love. Everyone knows that Lord Ganesh loves Modak. Famous as the Makhan Chor, Bhagavan Krishna adores the butter. Lord Vishnu loves Panchamrit, and Lord Hanuman loves the fresh coconut. Being Bholenath and satisfied with the simple offerings, Lord Shiva likes the milk, and Divine Mother Laxmi loves fresh fruits.

But did you know that there is a temple of Lord Kartikeya in Alappuzha, Kerala, where the Almighty Kartikeya is fond of chocolate, particularly a bar of Munch chocolate? Today, in the blog series of mysterious temples in India, we will visit the temple of Lord Bal Murugan, popularly known as Munch Murugan, where devotees present the Munch chocolate bar as offerings to the Lord. 

How did it all begin?

About seven years ago, a Muslim family stayed near the temple. They had a mischievous kid. One day, he entered the temple premice. After ringing all the bells in the temple, he joined the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Bal Murugan. Seeing this, his parents scolded and beat him up.

The same night, the kid got sick and began to wail in agony and pain, murmuring the Lord Murugan’s name again and again for the entire night. This was highly unusual, and hence, his parents took him to the temple the following day. His parents purchased flowers, sandal paste, camphor, and a few other things as an offering to the Lord. They got Nestle’s Munch Chocolate bar for their crying son to pacify him.

The kid, who was still crying, was taken to the temple’s sanctum sanctorum, where his parents presented the Lord with their offerings. Still, the sick kid continued crying. But a miracle happened.

Due to some unexplained reason, the kid came closer to the Vigraha (consecrated idol) of the Lord Murugan and kept his chocolate bar in front of the Vigraha as an offering, and suddenly, stopped crying. Within a few days, the kid’s health improved miraculously. The news of this miracle spread like wildfire in no time. Since then, local devotees and tourists have started offering Munch to Lord Murugan.  

The Temple

 Alappuzha is a city about 40 km away from Kochi. Sree Subramanya temple, or Munch Murugan, is located in the town of Alappuzha, in the suburbs of Talavady. When you park your vehicle on the temple premises, you will notice something unusual. Like any other Indian temple, there are few shops outside the temple selling flowers, garlands, coconut, essence sticks, and other Puja materials. There, you shall find Munch chocolate bar garlands woven with each other, ready to be presented to Lord Murugan.

The temple is built in typical Kerala-style temple architecture. Holy flagstaff, covered in pure bronze, welcomes the Deity to the temple. The Temple roof and the pillars are made with ancient wood, still intact, surviving hundreds of harsh monsoons of Kerala. You will see a peacock, the vehicle of Lord Murugan, in the temple premises.   

The temple’s main Deity is Lord Murugan, also known as Kartikeya. Being the Lord commander of the Divine armies, the east-facing Vigraha of Murugan holds his mighty golden spear in one hand. His other hand is busy bestowing the blessings to his beloved devotees. The silver border surrounding the Lord is decorated with the garlands of green lemons.

Worship of Lord Munch Murugan

There is a huge traditional copper vessel used in the everyday Puja ritual of Lord Murugan, which has a capacity to carry 8kg of rice. After the temple gained popularity as Munch Murugan, it gave birth to the new tradition of Munch Para. In this Munch Para, the entire vessel is filled with Munch chocolates and presented to Lord Murugan in the form of offerings. Devotees believe that offering about 8kg of chocolate will fulfil their resolutions.

There is another exciting tradition, known as Much Tulabharanam. There is a colossal weighing scale in the temple premises. On that scale, the devotee sits in one pan. Nestle’s Munch chocolate bar is poured in the other until the devotee is lifted in the air and the chocolate pan touches the ground. After the Puja, the actual chocolate is presented to Lord Murugan as an offering. Later, it is distributed to the devotees as Prasadam.

Temple is especially crowded during May, as it happens to be the exam season. A large crowd of students gathers here, with their Munch bar, to request the Lord grant them a stroke of good luck during exams. Praying to Lord Murugan helps students to improve their memory and concentration.  

Devotees believe that worshipping the Murugan makes them courageous and removes their nervousness. Many devotees meditate in the temple premises, focusing on Lord Murugan, who shields the devotees, repelling bad luck, nightmares, curses, and evil eyes.   

Sanatana Dharma, commonly known as Hinduism, is the most ancient surviving religion on the globe. Many faiths were thriving on this earth, but the only one that managed to survive for so many millenniums was Hinduism. Do you ever think about how it survived for thousands of years despite countless invasions? The answer lies in the flexibility and surprising ability of Hinduism to change with time.

As this ancient civilization changed, eating habits changed along with it. But the Prasad, or the food offered to the Deity, did not change for the last five hundred years or so. Offering Munch chocolate bars to the Deity is the healthy representation of the adaptive society and their praying procedures evolving along with it.

We hope you enjoyed reading about the mysterious Nestle Munch Murugan temple of Kerala. Please subscribe to our mailing list to stay connected and receive information about spirituality. In case of any queries, please write to us at info@chamundaswamiji.com. You can check out our YouTube channel Chamunda Swamiji where you can learn Tantra, Mantra, Yantra, and Meditation from His Holiness Shri Chamunda Swamiji.