A Shrine in the town of war!

Legend says, Murugan fought with demons in three places, namely, the sea at Tiruchendur, land at Thirupparankundram and in air at Thiruporur. It is believed that sage Agastya on his way to Pothigai hills visited this place. Since Muruga won over Tharuka asuran, this place came to be Porur (por in Tamil means war) and also called by other names like Tharukapuri and Samarapuri. According to the sthala puraanam, at some point of time, the place was submerged in a deluge. A sage named Chidambara Adigal was residing in Madurai and a divine voice asked him to unearth the statue under a palm tree. He dug out the statue and built a temple around it. There is a separate shrine dedicated to Chidambara Adigal in the temple and he is given special respect during the Vaikasi Visagam festival. During the last event of the festival, he is depicted merging with the presiding deity.
 

The Idol of Kandaswamy is believed to have originated on its own (Swayambu) and hence abishekam is not done to the presiding deity. There is an yantra over a Tortoise base where all the rituals are performed.

Kandaswamy is revered by Chidambara Adigal in 726 verses. The image of Muruga is believed to have been discovered under a palm leaf. There is a palm leaf maintained in the temple, which is believed to have been the original palm leaf. Arunagirinaadhar, a 16th-century saint has glorified the temple in his work in Thirupugazh. Bala devaraya has mentioned Kandaswamy as "Samara puri vaazh Shan mugatthu arase" in his works in Kanda Shasti Kavasam.