Sri Sakthi Velan Temple - Bahau (Negeri Sembilan)

In a lush green environment surrounded by towering trees, Velayutham Pillai's soul was harmoniously swaying to the lullabies of the jungle. He was in the midst of peaceful 'dhyanam' (meditation), when the abrupt squawk of a 'mayil' (peacock) pierced the tranquillity. It was indeed unusual to sight a peacock in the middle of the jungle as peacocks are not indigenous to Malaysia. The peacock was momentarily perched on a tree above Velayutham Pillai, before retreating into the dense jungle. Velayutham Pillai felt that this was a divine message from Lord Murugan. He pondered on what had transpired and thought that the massive tree where the peacock had perched must be sacred. And since he owned that tract of jungle land, his intuition led him to believe that Lord Murugan was guiding him to build a temple for spiritual worship. Hence, in the year 1965 he built a shrine for Lord Murugan below the enormous tree and donated an acre of land towards establishing a temple. In 1979, the Murugan shrine was renovated and a statue of Lord Murugan was sanctified at the main sanctum. In 1999 with the aid of the local residents, the 1st kumbabishekam was conducted. The 2nd kumbabishekam was conducted in 2024 very elaborately. The temple's existing devotees and their families had prospered, hence they contributed towards the development of the temple. 

Many devotees experienced abnormal incidents near the sacred tree. A dedicated devotee had climbed up the tree to prune its branches and leaves. As the temple was located beneath the tree, the roof of the temple was always covered with fallen leaves, branches and twigs. All of a sudden he heard a thunderous voice warning him to get down the tree. Trembling with fear, he climbed down hurriedly. As soon as he got down, the branch where he was straddled upon fell down with a tremendous thud. Trembling with fear, he realised the roaring voice saved him from an instantaneous death. He nervously prayed at the temple begging for forgiveness if he had transgressed in any manner. The temple priest who had been told of the incident immediately requested the devotee to meet him. The temple priest assured him that Lord Murugan rescued him from an accidental death, after thoroughly analysing his astrological chart. His only remedy was to continue serving Lord Murugan. 

When the temple was still its inception phase, the surrounding area of the temple was thriving with flora and fauna. A Chinese landlord who lived nearby was driving in an old rackety jeep, with the intention of hunting wild boar. Unexpectedly, a small boy ran past his jeep in a flash and ascended the fabled divine tree. The young boy looked princely and was attired in elegant garments, and did not look like he was native to the area. The Chinese landlord immediately hit the brakes and tried searching for the young boy. He was afraid that the young boy might have been lost in the jungle. Astonishingly, the boy vanished up in the divine tree and was nowhere to be found. The puzzled Chinese landlord narrated the incident to the devotees of the temple, hoping they would have been able to solve the mystery. They approached a wise old woman from the temple, who has been blessed with divine intuition. She mentioned it is Murugan amusing himself with mischievous banter. 

The divine tree that had signified the presence of Lord Murugan had fallen down after being struck by lightning. Many loyal devotees of the temple were disheartened by the tragic incident and decided to gather the remaining bark of the tree. These remnants of the divine tree had been left above a concrete cylinder to signify the humble beginnings of this powerful temple. Despite being destroyed, the bark of the divine tree is still a focal point of the temple. During Thaipoosam, 'kavadi' participants gather near the concrete cylinder first to obtain the cosmic blessings of Lord Murugan before commencing the 'kavadi' ritual. Furthermore, some staunch devotees customarily lay their palms on the tree's bark before starting their worship inside the temple. They believe the 'shakti' (divine energy) that vibrates from the bark will cleanse them of their mortal sins, and hence their soul will be rejuvenated.   

Once the temple was established, a snake mound naturally formed in the vicinity of this  spiritual area. An immense white cobra snake was occasionally seen by devotees at the surroundings areas of the temple, its divine mission to guard the boundaries from undesirable ghoulish elements. Many people who had observed the mystical white cobra were bewildered by the sight. One such individual had inadvertently witnessed the resplendent white cobra after mistakenly entering the temple vicinity late at night. He was overwhelmed by the sight, and became worried about the incident. He soon became seriously ill after contracting chicken pox. He made a silent plea to the snake goddess, Nagamma to forgive his misdemeanour. He soon recovered, and went to the temple to seek forgiveness and offer his appreciation for swiftly recovering from the disease. 

Another unrelated incident occurred on the 'manjal neer attam' (ritual cleansing bath with turmeric water) ceremony during the annual 'kovil thiruvila' (temple festival). A young man who always volunteered to assist with chores at the temple had disabilities, and could not speak nor hear. He was a proud Murugan 'bhaktar' (devotee) and did his utmost to help the temple. As the 'manjal neer attam' was being conducted adjacent to the temple, the temple was empty and peacefully silent. Suddenly the white cobra appeared in front of the young man, and blessed him with the silent swaying of its hood. The unperturbed young man was ecstatic and in gratitude offered the white cobra a bowl of milk. In a twinkling of an eye, the white cobra sipped the milk and then slithered away into darkness as dusk was soon approaching. The young man gazed upwards towards the heavenly skies, glanced towards the 'Krithigai' (Pleiades) star cluster, and expressed his gratitude to Lord Murugan for such an exuberant moment. 

 

The miracles of this affectionate Murugan towards his devotees are well known in this locality. A mother who had been regularly attending prayers at this temple was undergoing financial constraints. Her mortgaged home was about to repossessed by the bank. The bank had sent her several reminders of the impending date. With a heavy heart, the mother attended the temple's 'kumbhabhishekam', and gloomily thought of her imminent misfortune. Several days after the 'kumbhabhishekam', she went back to the temple to participate in the 'mandala abisekham' (daily ritual bathing of the deity for 48 days). As soon as she stepped into the temple, the bank manager called her and informed her that they will restructure her bank mortgage so that she can settle her outstanding loan amount. Furthermore the bank manager also informed her that the terms of payment were extremely advantageous to her. The bank had approved a special loan so that she could easily settle the outstanding mortgage. She cried in jubilation much to the surprise of all those who had gathered at the temple. She fell to her knees and thanked Murugan for relieving her of this financial agony. 

An entrepreneur who was involved in the transportation business was in deep financial distress. His business was failing and he owed money to various creditors. He had deep faith in Lord Murugan, and never failed to attend weekly 'puja' at the temple. Despite his adverse financial condition, he persevered and managed to survive but he realised that many of his creditors were deeply unhappy with him and could potentially solicit unlawful tactics to recover the debt. He tried to pacify his creditors but that there was very little that he could do to mend the situation. One night after an exhausting day, the entrepreneur slept off early. Whilst he was sleeping, he had a perplexing dream. He dreamt of renewing the road tax of his lorry in 10 days time. He got up from his sleep and was wondering the implication of the dream. He decided to purchase lottery tickets of his lorry's registration number but only in 10 days time. Remarkably, he won first prize in the lottery draw. With the prize money, he paid off his creditors and used the remaining cash reward to resuscitate his business. He also contributed a substantial amount of money towards the development of the temple. 

A young man and his newly wed wife were chased out of their family home due to an acrimonious dispute. As they left, they cried in anguish thinking of their miserable circumstance. When they passed the Sakthi Velan temple, an old man there noticed their plight. The old man was a familiar face at the temple, as he used to come daily and clean the temple. The old man advised the young couple to light 6 ghee lamps for Lord Murugan. After lighting up the ghee lamps, the young couple spent the night at the temple as they did not have any other shelter in close vicinity. That night, the young man dreamt that he won a huge amount of money after purchasing a lottery ticket. Waking up in the wee hours of the morning, he joyfully told his wife about the dream. The dream was a beacon of hope for the disillusioned couple. It encouraged them to be optimistic and forge ahead in their life despite facing arduous obstacles. Both of them decided to work in a nearby town to make ends meet. After several weeks, the young man won a huge amount of money in a lottery draw. He invested his money wisely into initiating a small business which became extremely profitable. He then contributed towards purchasing prayer items and kitchen utensils for the temple. As Murugan was their divine saviour, the couple contributed to the temple as a mark of gratitude.  

Ammal is a regular devotee who ardently prays at the Sakthi Velan temple, and she had started attending 'puja' at this temple since her childhood. She melodiously sings stanzas of 'Thevaram' (Tamil hymns) at all the temple's religious functions, which elevates the spiritual fervour of the devotees. Occasionally she gives 'arul vakku' (divine predictions) during these temple functions as a panacea to faithful devotees of the temple. For couples who are childless and undergoing 'naga dosham' (wrath of serpents), she advises to pray to the mighty Nagamman of this temple. As a remedy, she advises to circumambulate the Nagamman shrine, and then kneel before Nagamman and pour out our grievances. Humbly offering milk and turmeric by the couple is also essential to heal the 'naga dosham'. For devotees undergoing financial distress, Krishna Ammal advises to pray to Lord Murugan, and regularly attend 'puja' on either Tuesday, Friday or the monthly 'Sasthi'. 

The eminence of this Sakthi Velan temple is that it elevates its faithful devotees during their downtrodden phase and inspire these 'bhakti' (loving devotion towards a deity) drenched souls to perform their utmost in discharging their earthly duties as well as spiritual observances. 

Contact: 019-7308613 (Ramesh - Chairman)

Address: Jalan Rompin, 72100 Bahau, Negeri Sembilan

Google Maps Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1ZBP1FwGV7PZUxY97