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Sudalai Madan is a regional Tamil male deity who is popular in South India, particularly Tamil Nadu. He is created by Shiva, so he is considered as son of Shiva and Shakti. The word madan means protector; sudalai means cemetery. He it the protector from evil force and rule the evil force. Evil force are mostly in place of cemetery. Sudalai control the evil force, so Shiva named him as Sudalai Madan.
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There are some more deities are called Madan, but Sudalai is the superior to all. The higher superior is Ayyanar. Ayyanar is the form of lord Dharma Sastha. Treating like Ayyanar is the king, where Sudalai and Karuppasamy are the General. Sudali is treated as village deity. In Tamil, it is called Grama Devathai. Sudalai also called as Kaval Deivam, means Protecting Deity.
He is mostly with mother goddess Bhrama shakti Rakchasai and Vanapechi and he should be with his brother Sudalai Mundan. Sudalai Madan doesn't have a consort. There is misconception madathi is the consort of sudalai. But Sudalai Madan and Madan are different deities.
There is the belief that Sudali is the guardian of Kodimaram (flagstaff) in every temple. The earliest form of Sudalai is also called Siva Sudalai Madan.
Temples
Places of Famous and Powerful Temples are Sudalai Madan.
- Seevalaperi.
- High Court Maharaja Temple,
- Vijayanarayanapuram
- Ossikattu Sudalai Madan Temple
- Sirumalanji.
- Palavur, Arulmigu Sudalai Kovil
All the places in the region of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin dist.
History of Sudalai.
There is no written script for Sudalai. But the histories are vocally transferred from ancient. By the history, Sudalai have five birth.
Born in Kailash by penance of Parvathi is first birth.
The story about Sudalai Mada Samy tells of his birth on Kailasa, the mountain home of Siva and Parvathi. It is said that Devi Parvathi wanted a child, but Lord Siva had sworn celibacy. He had promised to be chaste at the request of the gods, since they had feared that his union with Parvathy would be so powerful it would shatter the universe. Siva suggests another way to have a child. He tells Parvathy to go to do penance in Ayiramkal mandapam (Place having 1000 billers in Kailash). Parvathi did penance. Shiva was happy about that. So he light up a fire lamp in that place. The fire spreader on her mundanai ( a part of saree). From the fire three children born. but the children were shapeless mass of tissue. She was really worried and pleaded Shiva to give her a solution. Siva asked Brahma to give the baby a shape. Shiva gave life to the baby . The first baby is girl, Sudalai Pechi. The second is boy Sudalai Madan while third boy is Sudalai Mundan.
Parvathi initially feeds the child on amrita (the nectar of immortality), instead of on breast milk. So it is said that the child became immortal. However, the child also became desirous for solid food. He went to the cremation grounds ("sudalai") on Kailasa, and began to eat the burning corpses. When he finished those, he began to eat everything around him, the other spirits, the animals, the trees, the ground itself etc. He feasted with a heavy appetite.
Because he ate so much, and since he had such a fondness for meat, it was decided that he ought not remain in Kailash. Siva instructed him to go to Earth, and to care for its people. Siva proclaimed that Sudalai Madan's protection and kindness would be re-paid with offerings of cooked food and drink, and thus he would always have a meal, as well as people who would pray to him. So Sudalai Madan came to earth, accompanied by a number of singers and dancers who were sent by Siva to see to his worship.
In the Second Birth, there are 21 madan's born from yagya. Once Parvathi's father did Yagya, but that was destructed by shiva. Shiva sent Veerapathran to destruct. After the destruction, they again did yagya by the instruction of shiva in the same yagya kund. from that 21 madans born.
Mandans are Sudalai madan, Sudalai Mundan, Pattani Madan, Thalavai Madan, Undi Madan, Chappani Madan, Vannaara Madan, Karadi Madan, Pantri Madan, Kuthirai Madan, Agni Madan, Palavesakkaran, Karaiyadi Madan, Kalugu Madan, Pulaiyadi Madan, idakkai madan, thoosi madan abd sankili madan.
Outside India
Madan is also popular amongst certain segments of the Tamil diaspora in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Réunion and the French overseas territories in the Caribbean sea.