Palani

பழனி

Murugan · Dandayudhapani · with Deivayanai

Standing ascetic with a staff, wearing a loincloth; image made of navapashanam, an amalgam of nine substances, attributed to the siddha Bhogar

Palani, Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu · Kaumara tradition

Nakkeerar's Tirumurugatrupadai gives its third section (lines 126–176) to Tiruvavinankudi, where sages, celestial musicians, Vishnu, Shiva and Indra come to Murugan, who abides there with Deivayanai.

The story begins: “Narada, the sage, brings Shiva a fruit of wisdom.”

Read the story
Directions

At the gate

Darshan hours
  • 6:00 am – 8:00 pm · Hill temple darshan
Next aarti or puja (India time)
See the schedule below
Walking and access
Four ways up: the stairway, the longer elephant path, a haulage winch (290 m, about 8 minutes) and a rope car (323 m, about 3 minutes). More on access
Getting there
Train: Palani railway stationAir: Madurai Airport

Not yet confirmed: dress code, phone rules, entry for visitors of other faiths. Ask at the temple office or enquiry counter — and if you know, tell us. hello@aalayakatha.com

Full visiting details

Sthala purana

The story of this place

3 accounts are recorded. Each is told separately, in the words of its own tradition — they are never merged.

Told in: Temple tradition as published by the devasthanam (palani.org) and the Dindigul district administration

The fruit of wisdom

Narada, the sage, brings Shiva a fruit of wisdom. There is one fruit and there are two sons, Ganesha and Murugan, so Shiva sets a contest: the fruit will go to whichever son first circles the world. In the Dindigul district's telling, the course is three times round.

Murugan mounts his peacock and sets off.

Ganesha does not leave. He walks around his parents, Shiva and Parvati, and gives his reason — they are his whole world, so to circle them is to circle the world. The fruit is given to him.

Murugan comes back to a contest already decided. He leaves Kailash and settles in the hills at Palani.

The devasthanam's account carries the scene one step further. Parvati tells Murugan, "You are the fruit" — Pazham Nee in Tamil. The devasthanam's page sets the phrase beside the Upanishadic great saying Tat tvam asi, "you are that". Read that way, the son who lost the race is himself the wisdom the race was run for.

The two published accounts differ in one detail. The district page has Narada bring the fruit. The devasthanam's page has Shiva set the contest and does not mention Narada. Neither page links the episode to a Purana chapter.

What the episode explains is why Murugan is at Palani at all. In this account he did not come as a conqueror; he came having walked away from Kailash. The image in the hill sanctum, as the district describes it, shows him as a young ascetic holding a staff and wearing only a loincloth — the form the devasthanam names Dandayudhapani, "the one who holds the staff".

Where this account comes from

  • Government: Dindigul District Administration, "Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani" (district portal page) dindigul.nic.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Dindigul District Administration, "Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani" (tourist place page) dindigul.nic.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org, maintained by devotees with the approval of the Joint Commissioner / Executive Officer), "Palani: The Sacred Abode of Lord Murugan" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Palani Hill Temple and Idol" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09
Told in: Temple tradition as published by the devasthanam (palani.org)

Idumban and the two hillocks

Agastya asks his disciple Idumbasuran to bring two hillocks, Sivagiri and Saktigiri, from Kailash. Idumban rests them on the hill at Palani and then cannot lift them. He meets a youth holding a staff — Murugan — who blesses the practice that became the kavadi, the load pilgrims carry to Palani. The devasthanam's festival calendar shows that load at the centre of Thai Poosam and Panguni Uthiram. The district administration publishes a different version, told separately.

Read this account

The sage Agastya — Agasthiyar, in the devasthanam's spelling — wants two hillocks, Sivagiri and Saktigiri, brought from Kailash. He gives the task to his disciple, Idumbasuran.

Idumban carries the hills south. At Palani he sets them down to rest. When he tries to take them up again, he cannot lift them.

On the hill he meets a youth holding a staff, a danda. The youth is Murugan.

The devasthanam's account ends with Murugan blessing the practice that became the kavadi tradition: the load a pilgrim carries on the shoulders to Palani descends, in this telling, from Idumban's.

The festival calendar shows how central that load is. At Thai Poosam, the ten-day festival in the Tamil month of Thai, pilgrims walk to Palani from across Tamil Nadu on foot and offer kavadi. At Panguni Uthiram, also ten days, devotees carry kavadi bearing holy water, sugar and tender coconut, and holy water brought from Kodumudi is used for the abhishekam. The devasthanam's fee table lists the kavadi and the theertha kavadi as offerings that can be made on any day.

The staff the youth holds is the same staff that gives the deity of the hill temple his name, Dandayudhapani.

This is one of two published tellings, and they do not agree about who Idumban was or why he was carrying the hills. The Dindigul district's version, told separately, makes the carrier a demon named Ettumba and gives a cosmological reason for the errand. Neither version has yet been traced to a Purana chapter.

Told differently elsewhere. This account does not agree with “The demon who carried the hills”, given on this page too. We tell each as its own tradition tells it, and do not choose between them.

Where this account comes from

  • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org, maintained by devotees with the approval of the Joint Commissioner / Executive Officer), "Palani: The Sacred Abode of Lord Murugan" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Festivals" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Puja Timings" and hill temple fee table palani.org · seen 2026-10-09
Told in: The account published by the Dindigul district administration

The demon who carried the hills

With the earth tilted, Agastya sends a demon, Ettumba, to carry two hills south to balance it. Murugan blocks him at Palani; the hill stays, and Murugan pardons the demon. The district ties two pilgrim practices to the episode: devotees carrying milk on their shoulders, and Thai Poosam pilgrims walking barefoot with kavadis in memory of the demon's role. It differs from the devasthanam's telling on who the carrier was and why the hills were moved.

Read this account

The earth has tilted. To set it level, the sage Agastya sends a demon, Ettumba, to carry two hills to the south.

At Palani, Murugan blocks his way. The hill stays where it is. Murugan then pardons the demon.

The Dindigul district account draws two pilgrim practices out of the story. Devotees still carry milk on their shoulders in homage to the episode. And at Thai Poosam — the temple's most important festival, held on the full moon of the Tamil month of Thai, between mid-January and mid-February — pilgrims walk barefoot and carry kavadis, decorated wooden frames, in memory of the demon's part in moving the hills.

The same account lists the festivals at which this load is carried — Thai Poosam first, then Panguni Uthiram, Vaikasi Visakam and Soora Samharam — and notes that pilgrims from Karaikudi bring a diamond-studded vel.

Set beside the devasthanam's telling, three things differ. Here the carrier is a demon, not a disciple. The hills are moved to balance the earth, not fetched for the sage. And the episode ends in a pardon after a confrontation, rather than with a meeting and a blessing. Both accounts agree on Agastya, on two hills, on Murugan stopping the load at Palani, and on the kavadi as the practice that remembers it.

Told differently elsewhere. This account does not agree with “Idumban and the two hillocks”, given on this page too. We tell each as its own tradition tells it, and do not choose between them.

Where this account comes from

  • Government: Dindigul District Administration, "Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani" (tourist place page) dindigul.nic.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Dindigul District Administration, "Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani" (district portal page) dindigul.nic.in · seen 2026-10-09

In one minute

Why Palani matters

Each line says who it comes from and how settled it is. What the labels mean

  1. Nakkeerar's Tirumurugatrupadai gives its third section (lines 126–176) to Tiruvavinankudi, where sages, celestial musicians, Vishnu, Shiva and Indra come to Murugan, who abides there with Deivayanai.

    2 sources for: Nakkeerar's Tirumurugatrupadai gives its third section (lines 126–176) to Tiruva
    • Hymn: Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai of Nakkīrar, ll. 126–176 (Tiruvāviṉaṉkuṭi section, part 3 of 6), with English meaning by S. Sachithanantham kaumaram.com · seen 2026-10-09
    • Hymn: Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai of Nakkīrar, section sequence across its 317 lines — Tirupparaṅkuṉṟam (1–77), Tiruccīralaivāy (78–125), Tiruvāviṉaṉkuṭi (126–176), Tiruvērakam (177–189), Kuṉṟutōṟāṭal (190–217), Pazhamudircholai (218–317). Part of the Pattuppāṭṭu anthology and counted in the Eleventh Tirumurai. kaumaram.com · seen 2026-10-09

  2. The image in the hill sanctum is made of navapashanam, an amalgam of nine substances, and its making is credited to the siddha Bhogar, whose shrine stands in the temple's southwestern corridor.

    2 sources for: The image in the hill sanctum is made of navapashanam, an amalgam of nine substa
    • Government: Dindigul District Administration, "Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani" (tourist place page) dindigul.nic.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Palani Hill Temple and Idol" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09

  3. Panchamirtham, a sweet mixture of banana, honey, dates and jaggery or sugar, is the temple's prasadam and is prepared and sold by the devasthanam.

    2 sources for: Panchamirtham, a sweet mixture of banana, honey, dates and jaggery or sugar, is
    • Government: Dindigul District Administration, "Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani" (tourist place page) dindigul.nic.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Facilities" — panchamirtham, winch, rope car, tonsuring palani.org · seen 2026-10-09

  4. Thai Poosam, held on the full moon of the Tamil month of Thai, is the temple's most important festival, when pilgrims walk to the hill and carry kavadi.

    2 sources for: Thai Poosam, held on the full moon of the Tamil month of Thai, is the temple's m
    • Government: Dindigul District Administration, "Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani" (tourist place page) dindigul.nic.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Festivals" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09

Shilpa

When you visit, look for…

Architectural style not yet identified

No published architectural study of the hill temple has been found yet. The devasthanam's pages describe a Raja Gopuram at the top of the stairway and a Bhogar shrine in the southwestern corridor, but do not classify the style.

  • Sanctum

    The navapashanam image

    Murugan as Dandayudhapani: standing, holding a staff, wearing only a loincloth. The devasthanam describes the image's material as nine minerals combined into a substance resembling hard wax; the district page notes the face is finely worked while the body is left rougher.

  • Detail

    Bhogar's shrine

    The shrine of the siddha Bhogar in the southwestern corridor. The devasthanam says it holds his body, a Nava Durga or Bhuvanesvari image and an emerald Shiva linga he worshipped; tradition links it to the sanctum, and to a cave in the hill, by a tunnel.

    Where to stand: Southwestern corridor of the hill temple.

  • Gateway tower

    Raja Gopuram at the head of the stairway

    The gopuram that greets pilgrims on reaching the top of the 693 steps, per the devasthanam.

    Where to stand: At the top of the stairway.

  • Detail

    The golden chariot

    The golden chariot procession of the evening, offered as a paid seva; the devasthanam lists it at 19:00 and a golden peacock vahana at 18:30.

  • Sacred water

    Saravana Poigai

    Tank at the foot of the hill beside the Tiru Avinankudi temple, per the devasthanam.

Yatra

Plan your visit

Darshan times

Hill temple darshanOpens at 04:00 on festival days per the devasthanam's fee table; the district page says 04:30.6:00 am – 8:00 pm
Vishvarupa darsanam5:40 am
Vila pujaThe district page gives 06:30, and the devasthanam's own alangaram table gives 06:40.6:50 am
Sirukala santhi puja8:00 am
Kala santhi puja9:00 am
Uchikala puja12:00 pm
Sayaraksha puja5:30 pm
Golden peacock6:30 pm
Golden chariotThe district page says the golden car can be viewed at 18:30.7:00 pm
Rakkala pujaMarked 'subject to change' by the devasthanam.8:00 pm

Confirm on the day. Times change on festival days and without notice. These times are not from the temple’s own notice.

Before you go

  • No dress code or entry rules have been confirmed for this temple yet. Traditional, modest clothing is always the safe choice; ask at the entrance.

Walking, steps and access

main stairway to the hill temple: 693 steps

Four ways up: the stairway, the longer elephant path, a haulage winch (290 m, about 8 minutes) and a rope car (323 m, about 3 minutes). The devasthanam gives winch hours of 05:20–21:00 (from 03:20 on festival days) and rope car hours of 07:00–21:00 with a 13:30–14:30 break; the district page gives different rope car hours (07:00–12:30 and 13:30–17:00). Neither source says anything about wheelchair access.

Crowds: Thai Poosam is the peak: pilgrims walk to Palani from across Tamil Nadu, many barefoot and carrying kavadi, and the hill temple opens early on festival days.

Getting there

  • By air: Madurai AirportNearest airport, per the Dindigul district page.
  • By train: Palani railway stationNearest railway station, per the Dindigul district page.
  • By road: Palani bus standDirect buses from cities across Tamil Nadu, per the Dindigul district page.
  • By ropeway: Palani hill rope car and winch stationsRope car (323 m) and winch (290 m) run up the hill alongside the stairway and the elephant path; see the accessibility notes.

PIN 624601 (not yet checked with India Post)

Sevas

  • Special entrance darshanOrdinary-day fee; Rs 200 on festival days.₹100Book
  • Vila puja (and each of the other kala pujas)Ordinary-day fee; Rs 300 on festival days.₹150Book
  • Golden chariot₹2,000Book
  • Golden peacock₹1,000Book
  • Kavadi₹10Book
  • Mudi kanikkai (tonsure)The facilities page lists tonsuring sheds at Tiru Avinankudi, the lower winch station and near Pathavinayakar temple.₹10Book

Prices as published by the temple when we checked. They change; the temple’s booking site is final.

The order of darshan

No published source gives the order in which to visit the shrines here, so we have not invented one. Follow the queue and the temple staff.

Festivals

  • Thai Poosam

    Jan–Feb · Thai, Poosam · 10 days

    The temple's principal festival, on the full moon of Thai. Pilgrims walk to Palani and offer kavadi; the festival opens with flag-hoisting at the Periyanayaki Amman temple, with a silver car procession on day six and a wooden car on day seven.

  • Panguni Uthiram

    Mar–Apr · Panguni, Uthiram · 10 days

    Kavadi carrying holy water, sugar and tender coconut; holy water from Kodumudi is used for the abhishekam. The flag is hoisted at Tiru Avinankudi and the car festival falls on day seven.

  • Vaikasi Visakam

    May–Jun · Vaikasi, Visakam · 10 days

    Murugan's birth star. Daily processions at the Periyanayaki Amman temple, with the car festival on the tenth day.

  • Kandha Sashti (Soora Samharam)

    Oct–Nov · Aippasi · 6 days

    Commemorates Murugan's victory over the asuras. The devasthanam notes that the deity comes down the hill once a year for it and returns after the victory; devotees fast.

Customs you will see here

Itihasa

Through time

Two registers, kept apart on purpose: what the Puranas tell, and what the historical record shows. They answer different questions and we do not force them to agree.

In the Puranas and tradition

  1. Murugan leaves Kailash and settles in the Palani hills

    The fruit-of-wisdom episode as published by the devasthanam and the district administration. Neither assigns a yuga.

    2 sources for: Murugan leaves Kailash and settles in the Palani hills
    • Government: Dindigul District Administration, "Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani" (district portal page) dindigul.nic.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org, maintained by devotees with the approval of the Joint Commissioner / Executive Officer), "Palani: The Sacred Abode of Lord Murugan" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09

  2. Kali yuga

    Bhogar makes the navapashanam image

    The devasthanam places the siddha Bhogar at the beginning of the Kali Yuga and credits him with combining nine substances into the image and consecrating it.

    Source for: Bhogar makes the navapashanam image
    • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Palani Hill Temple and Idol" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09

In the historical record

  1. c. 1001–1100

    A Chera king builds the temple around the image

    The district account has the image fall into neglect and be overgrown by forest until the Chera king Perumal, directed in a dream, restored it and built the temple that now houses it. The devasthanam names him Cheraman Perumal, 'the contemporary of Saint Sundarar', and dates the building to the eleventh century. No inscription confirming this has been found yet.

    2 sources for: A Chera king builds the temple around the image
    • Government: Dindigul District Administration, "Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani" (tourist place page) dindigul.nic.in · seen 2026-10-09
    • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org, maintained by devotees with the approval of the Joint Commissioner / Executive Officer), "Palani: The Sacred Abode of Lord Murugan" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09

  2. 1898–1910

    Tiru Avinankudi temple renovated by Chettiar donors

    N. M. Subramanian Chettiar of Karaikudi and K. P. S. Palaniappa Chettiar of Kandanur renovated the foothill temple between 1898 and 1910; members of the first donor's family added a raja gopuram in 1968.

    Source for: Tiru Avinankudi temple renovated by Chettiar donors
    • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Tiru Avinankudi" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09

  3. 1966

    First winch car installed up the hill

    The devasthanam lists three haulage winch cars: 36 seats (installed 1966), 32 seats (1981) and 36 seats (1988), on a 290-metre track.

    Source for: First winch car installed up the hill
    • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Facilities" — panchamirtham, winch, rope car, tonsuring palani.org · seen 2026-10-09

  4. Tiruvavinankudi sung in the Tirumurugatrupadai

    Nakkeerar's poem gives its third section to Tiruvavinankudi. The devasthanam identifies Tiruvavinankudi with the Kulandai Velayudhaswami temple at the foot of the hill, which it calls the third Padai Veedu and describes as older than the hill temple. We give no date for the poem here.

    2 sources for: Tiruvavinankudi sung in the Tirumurugatrupadai
    • Hymn: Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai of Nakkīrar, ll. 126–176 (Tiruvāviṉaṉkuṭi section, part 3 of 6), with English meaning by S. Sachithanantham kaumaram.com · seen 2026-10-09
    • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Tiru Avinankudi" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09

Around here

Worth the detour

  • Temple

    Tiru Avinankudi (Kulandai Velayudhaswami Temple)

    At the foot of the hill beside the Saravana Poigai tank. The devasthanam identifies it as the Tiruvavinankudi of the Tirumurugatrupadai and notes that devotees often visit it before climbing.

  • Temple

    Periyanayaki Amman Temple

    Where the Thai Poosam flag is hoisted and several of the festival processions run, per the devasthanam's calendar.

  • Temple

    Lakshminarayana Perumal Temple

    Site of the ten-day Chitra Pournami festival in the devasthanam's calendar.

Sources

Where this page comes from

  • Hymn: Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai of Nakkīrar, ll. 126–176 (Tiruvāviṉaṉkuṭi section, part 3 of 6), with English meaning by S. Sachithanantham kaumaram.com · seen 2026-10-09
  • Hymn: Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai of Nakkīrar, section sequence across its 317 lines — Tirupparaṅkuṉṟam (1–77), Tiruccīralaivāy (78–125), Tiruvāviṉaṉkuṭi (126–176), Tiruvērakam (177–189), Kuṉṟutōṟāṭal (190–217), Pazhamudircholai (218–317). Part of the Pattuppāṭṭu anthology and counted in the Eleventh Tirumurai. kaumaram.com · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Dindigul District Administration, "Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani" (tourist place page) dindigul.nic.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Government: Dindigul District Administration, "Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, Palani" (district portal page) dindigul.nic.in · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: palani.org, "About" — describes itself as the officially authorized website of Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, published by devotees with the consent of the Joint Commissioner / Executive Officer, Palani palani.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org, maintained by devotees with the approval of the Joint Commissioner / Executive Officer), "Palani: The Sacred Abode of Lord Murugan" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Palani Hill Temple and Idol" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Puja Timings" and hill temple fee table palani.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Facilities" — panchamirtham, winch, rope car, tonsuring palani.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Festivals" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09
  • Temple administration: Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami Devasthanam, Palani (palani.org), "Tiru Avinankudi" palani.org · seen 2026-10-09

Cite this page

Aalaya Katha Foundation, “Palani”, Aalaya Katha, version last reviewed 2026-10-09. https://www.aalayakatha.com/temple/palani (accessed ).

Last reviewed 2026-10-09. How we label sources and confidence