The Hill Temple of Palani is one of the most famous temples of Murugan in India. It is located in the town of Palani, 100 km southeast of Coimbatore and a similar distance northwest of Madurai, and in the foot-hills of the eponymous Palni Hills. At its foot is the Temple of Thiru-avinan-kudi, one of the Arupadaiveedu.
Sage Narada once visited the celestial court of Lord Shiva at Mount Kailash to present to Him a fruit, the gyana-pazham (literally, the fruit of knowledge), that held in it the elixir of wisdom.
Upon Lord Shiva expressing his intention of dividing the fruit between his two sons, Ganesha and Karthikeya, the Sage counselled Him against cutting it. Thereat, He decided to award it to whichever of his two sons first circled the world thrice. Accepting the challenge, the Lord Karthikeya started his journey around the globe on his sacred bird, the peacock.
However, Lord Ganesha, who surmised that the world was no more than his parents Shiva and Shakti, circumambulated them. Pleased with their son's discernment, Lord Shiva awarded the fruit to Lord Ganesha. When the Lord Subrahmanya returned, he was furious to learn that his efforts had been in vain. In deep dudgeon, he decided to leave Mount Kailash, and take up his abode in a place where the land and people would be unequivocally his and for him. Thus, it was that He came to what is today known as Palani, a name derived from the manner of His Parents trying to mollify him and prevail upon him to return to Kailash - Gnana Pazham Nee appa (Tamil for "You are the fruit of wisdom sire")and thus, implying that being the embodiment of wisdom, he had no need for the fruit. Thus, being the abode of wisdom, the place took on its master's name - Pazham Nee or Pazhani, anglicised as Palani.
Going by legend, the idol of the Lord Muruga in Palani , was created and consecrated by the Sage Bhogar, one of Hinduism's eighteen great ascetics (siddhas), out of an amalgam of nine poisons or navapashanam. The legend also holds that, since it was a quick-setting paste, the sculptor had to work very rapidly to chisel its features, but that he spent so much time in creating the exquisitely beatific face, he did not have time to bestow but a rough grace upon the rest of the body, thus explaining the contrast between the artistic perfection of the face and the slightly less accomplished work upon the body.
A shrine to Bhogar exists in the southwestern corridor of the temple, which, by legend, is said to be connected by a subterranean tunnel to a cave in the heart of the hill, where Bhogar continues to meditate and maintain his vigil, with eight idols of the Lord.
Another legend holds that the idol, after centuries of worship, fell into neglect and was suffered to be engulfed by the forest. One night, Cheraman Perumal, a King of the Cheras, who controlled the area between the second and fifth centuries A.D., wandered from his hunting party and was forced to take refuge at the foot of the hill. It so befell, that the Lord Subrahmanyan, appeared to him in a dream, and ordered him to restore the idol to its former state. The king, thereat, awakening, commenced a search for the idol, and finding it, constructed the temple that now houses it, and re-instituted its worship. This is commemorated by a small stela at the foot of the staircase that winds up the hill.
Going by legend, the idol of the Lord Muruga in Palani , was created and consecrated by the Sage Bhogar, one of Hinduism's eighteen great ascetics (siddhas), out of an amalgam of nine poisons or navapashanam. The legend also holds that, since it was a quick-setting paste, the sculptor had to work very rapidly to chisel its features, but that he spent so much time in creating the exquisitely beatific face, he did not have time to bestow but a rough grace upon the rest of the body, thus explaining the contrast between the artistic perfection of the face and the slightly less accomplished work upon the body.
A shrine to Bhogar exists in the southwestern corridor of the temple, which, by legend, is said to be connected by a subterranean tunnel to a cave in the heart of the hill, where Bhogar continues to meditate and maintain his vigil, with eight idols of the Lord.
Another legend holds that the idol, after centuries of worship, fell into neglect and was suffered to be engulfed by the forest. One night, Cheraman Perumal, a King of the Cheras, who controlled the area between the second and fifth centuries A.D., wandered from his hunting party and was forced to take refuge at the foot of the hill. It so befell, that the Lord Subrahmanyan, appeared to him in a dream, and ordered him to restore the idol to its former state. The king, thereat, awakening, commenced a search for the idol, and finding it, constructed the temple that now houses it, and re-instituted its worship. This is commemorated by a small stela at the foot of the staircase that winds up the hill.
The most esteemed form of worship at the temple is the abhishekam - anointment of the idol with oils, sandalwood paste, milk, unguents and the like and then bathing it with water in an act of ritual purification. The most prominent abhishekams are conducted at the ceremonies to mark the hours of the day. These are four in number - the Vizha Poojai, early in the morning, the Ucchikālam, in the afternoon, the Sāyarakshai, in the evening and the Rakkālam, at night, immediately prior to the temple being closed for the day. These hours are marked by the tolling of the heavy bell on the hill, to rouse the attention of all devotees to the worship of the lord being carried out at that hour. On a quiet day, the bell can be heard in all the countryside around Palani.
After the abhishekam, it is the practice to dress the idol of the Lord, in an act called alangaram, in one of several guises - the most common being the Raja, or king, the Vaitheekan, or priest, the Vedan, or hunter and the Aandi, or monk, which last is the most celebrated in Palani, because it is the nearest to the natural form the Lord assumed at Palani as an anchorite, having withdrawn from all the celestial riches of his father's court at Mount Kailash.
In addition to worship within the precincts of the temple, an idol of the Lord, called the Uthsavamoorthy, is also carried in state around the temple, in a golden chariot, drawn by devotees, most evenings in a year.
Besides regular services, days sacred to the god Subrahmanyan are celebrated with pomp and splendour every year, and are attended by throngs of devotees from all over South India. Some of these festivals are the Thai-Poosam, the Pankuni-Uththiram, the Vaikhashi-Vishakham and the Soora-Samharam.
Thai-Poosam, which is considered, by far, the most important festival at Palani, is celebrated on the full moon day of the Tamil Month of Thai (15 January-15 February). Pilgrims after first having taken a strict vow of abstinence, come barefoot, by walk, from distant towns and villages. Many pilgrims also bring a litter of wood, called a Kāvadi, borne on their shoulders, in commemoration of the act of the demon Hidumba who is credited by legend with bringing the two hills of Palani to their present location, slung upon his shoulders in a similar fashion. Others bring pots of sanctified water, known as theertha-kāvadi, for the priests to conduct the abhishekam on the holy day. Traditionally, the most honoured of the pilgrims, whose arrival is awaited with anticipation by all and sundry, are the people of Karaikudi, who bring with them the diamond-encrusted vél or javelin, of the Lord from His temple at Karaikudi.
