The idol of Murugan in the Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple in Palani, India is made of navapashanam, an amalgam of nine poisonous herbs or minerals. The sage Bogar, one of the eighteen great siddhas of ancient Tamil culture, is said to have created the idol.
The word "navapashanam" is a combination of the words "nava" meaning nine and "bhashanam" meaning mineral or poison. According to legend, Bogar had to work quickly to complete the idol's features. The idol is believed to have curative properties because the panchamritham, which is made of milk, honey, and other materials, absorbs the navapashanam. Devoid of any ornamentation, Lord Muruga stands with a dhanda (staff) facing west, with a shaven head, wearing a loincloth. While temple idols are made of granite, this one is made of navabhashanam —Nava meaning nine and bhashanam meaning mineral or poison. Kuzhanthai Velappar Temple is a Hindu temple in the village of Poombarai near Kodaikanal in Dindigul. Around 10 to 12 centuries after returning from China, Bogar completed the Palani Andavar statue. He built one more Navabasanam Statue at the midpoint of the Palani and PoombariWestern gates. Nowadays its location is referred to as the Yanai Gejam (Bogar Forest). As per inscriptions in the temple which temple has built by king of Chera dynasty. Tamil Inscriptions at Poombarai Temple POOMBARAI KUZHANTHAI VELAPPAR TEMPLE. Kulanthai Velappar temple is situated in the village of Poombarai near Kodaikanal in Dindigul. There is a song/poem (Poombarai Velan) by Sage Arunagiri Nathar. It was this Murugan who saved Arunagiri Nathar from a demon by taking the form of a child. Hence the main deity of this temple is called Kuzhanthai Velappar. The temple was built by a Chera King as per inscription. After completing Palani Andavar statue, Bogar built one more navabasanam (amalgam of nine poisons) idol at this place between Palani and Poombarai. This place is also called as Yanai Gejam (Bogar kadu). There are also some people who believe this idol is made up of dasaphasanam (amalgam of ten poisons). A shrine to Sithar Bogar is present in the south western corridor of the temple. The idol of the Muruga in Poombarai, was created and consecrated by sage Bogar, one of the eighteen great siddhas out of an amalgam of nine poisons or navapashanam. The legend also holds that, the sculptor had to work very rapidly to complete its features, but that he spent so much time in creating the 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 tunnel to a cave in the heart of the hill, where Bhogar continues to meditate and maintain his vigil, with eight idols of Muruga. The deity, after centuries of worship, fell into neglect and was suffered to be engulfed by the forest. One night, Perumal a king of the Chera Dynasty, 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 Murugan, appeared to him in a dream, and ordered him to restore the idol to its former state. The king commenced a search for the idol, and finding it, constructed the temple that now houses it, and re-instituted its worship. The idol of the deity is said to be made of an amalgam of nine poisonous substances which forms an eternal medicine when mixed in a certain ratio. It is placed upon a pedestal of stone, with an archway framing it and represents the god Kuzhanthai Velappar in the form he assumed at Poombarai - that of a very young recluse, shorn of his locks and all his finery. The temple is built in a typical South India temple architectural style. There is no tower. The sanctum sanctorum faces towards the east direction. The main idol, Kulandai Velappan is present in the standing posture in the sanctum sanctorum. His mount (vahanam) peacock is found near the Bali peetham and flag staff facing towards the main shrine. There is a sub-shrine where the metal Utsava idols of Ganesha and Subramanya with his consorts are placed. It is found near the sanctum sanctorum. The wall around the main shrine has Nataraja and Dattatreya as the Koshta idols. It is very rare to find Nataraja and Dattatreya in the form of carvings as the Koshta idols. Moreover, it is also rare to find the carving or idol of Dattatreya. The temple also houses many sub-shrines of various deities such as Shiva Linga, Ganesha, Navagraha, Bhairava, Idumban, Dakshinamurti and Nagas. The sanctum of the temple is of early Chera architecture. One of the main traditions of the temple, is the tonsuring of devotees, who vow to discard their hair in imitation of the Lord of Poombarai. Another is the anointing of the head of the presiding deity's idol with sandalwood paste, at night, prior to the temple being closed for the day. The paste, upon being allowed to stay overnight, is said to acquire medicinal properties, and is much sought after and distributed to devotees, as rakkāla chandaṇam. There is a song-poem(Poombarai Velan) by Aruna giri nathar who lived during the 15th century. While visiting this temple this god (Murugan) has saved Arunagiri nathar from a devil by acted as a Baby(Kulanthai), the people are trusting. Because of this incident only Poombarai Murugan has been called as Kuzhanthai Velappar. Also some of others trusting this idol is made up of Dasaphasanam which is Ten different herbals. And this abhishegam cures a lot of diseases like cancer and sugar(diabetes) etc. By scientifically more 'Siddhar' lived around western-gates so this Temple location also Middle of western-gates only so we can confirm the stories of Bhogar idols. Lord Skanda-Murugan Out of the six sacred bastions (Paṭai Vīṭukaḷ) of Lord Murukan, Lord Daņdāyudhapāni at Palani represents the third stage of spiritual attainment, called the manipūrakam, the other stages of spiritual progress being: Bastion of Lord Murukan Stage of attainment Palamutircolai Ājña Tiruttani Vishudhi Swāmimalai Anāhata Palani Maņipūra Tiruccentūr Svadiśṭhāna Tirupparaŋkunram Mūlādhāra The greatness of Palani Temple can be better understood from the immortal songs of the great Saint Arunagirināthar: "My Lord, You sit on a Holy Hill which is superlative and exceeds even the spiritual glory of Kasi (Benares)." According to Saiva Siddhanta, the path to enlightenment is divided naturally into four stages of the soul's evolutionary process. Carya (virute and selfless service); kriya (worshipful sādhanās); yoga (meditation under a guru's guidance); and finally, jñāna, the wisdom state of a realized soul. For those who are striving for enlightenment, these stages may be understood as follows: carya, kriya, yoga and jñāna are the sequence of the soul's evolutionary process, much like the natural development of a butterfly from egg to larvae, from larvae to pupa, from pupa to caterpillar, and then the final metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly. Lord Daņdāyudhapāni at Palani represents jñāna, the final stage of the spiritual evolution of the soul. Jñāna is spiritual ecstasy, the fruit of wisdom (ñyānappaḷam). From a bud at the carya stage, through the other stages of blossom, raw fruit and then to the final stage of ripe fruit. With His majestic grace and magnetic charm, He appears in different forms to different people. For example, He appears as: Kulaņṭaivēl to children Bālasubrahmaņya to youths Śanmukar to artists Svāmināthar to philosophers the Consort of Vaḷḷi and Teyvayānai to householders; and Palani Āņṭavar to saints and sages. For this reason, the presiding deity at Palani attracts people from all over the world. Even the orthodox Muslims make regular visits to the Palani temple and worship the Lord. For them, the Lord is known as Palani Bādshah. Palani Āņṭavar lights the spiritual path by which the pilgrims walk through in search of their spiritual goal to attain self realisation. The temple of Lord Daņdāyudhapāni at Palani, is unique in several aspects. It also differs in many aspects from the other abodes of Lord Murukan. Bhogar, using the nine different minerals, creates the Dandapaani Bhogar, using the nine different minerals, creates the Dandapaani vigraha and sanctifies it. The basic, and the foremost factor is the presiding deity, known as the mūlavar. It is a normal practice to sculpt the idols for all Hindu temples in granite stone. The main reason to choose granite is it's tensile strength. But other than this enormous strength, only granite stone contains all the five elements of creation, namely the panc~a bhūta-s. They are earth, water, fire, air and ether. As an exception, in Palani the idol for the mūlavar or presiding deity is believed to be made out of an amalgam known as nava pāśaņam. In Sanskrit the word nava has two meanings. Nava means both 'new' and also 'nine'. Similarly the word bhāśaņa also has two meanings. Bhāśaņa means 'poison' and may also mean 'mineral'. The observations made by the researchers who delved into the ancient literature lends support to the theory that the siddha munivar Bhogar was the one who formulated this amalgamation of nava pāśaņam. The idol for the presiding deity was sculpted out of this nava pāśaņam. It is believed that this amalgam is a clever mixture of nine poisonous metals. By this amalgamation, the poisonous nature of all these metals was harnessed, hardened like granite and converted into a beneficial amalgam with medicinal and curative values. The idol for the presiding deity was subsequently carved out of this hardened amalgam. To evolve such an unique amalgam reveals the alchemy expertise possessed by the siddha munivar Bhogar, the enormous spiritual heights achieved by him and the endless concern he had about the welfare of the followers devoted to Lord Murukan in future generations. The antecedent of this saint is seen from the very ancient literature. The bull god, Nandi Deva, is the supreme head of all siddhas. His main disciple was Tirumoolar amongst the total of seven. The seventh disciple is Kālāngi Kañjamalaiyan who in turn had five disciples. Kālāngi Kañjamalaiyan's disciple was the siddha munivar Bhoga. The genealogy is given below: Nandi Teyvan Tiru Mūlar > Malangan Indra Soma Brahma Rudra Kanturu Kalangi Kañjamalaiyan > Agorar Malikai Devar Nandandar Paramanandar Bhoga Devar All these facts about Bhogar, the creator of the unique idol for Palani Andavar are found in the hymns of Tirumūlar called Tirumantiram. Tirumūlar is the pillar of Saiva Siddhanta who showed the right path for spiritual evolution of souls by self realisation, a process for our soul to merge with the Ultimate. Golden Vimanam, Palani Golden Vimanam (at left) and Raja Gopuram, Palani After cleverly compounding the amalgam, Bhogar chose to sculpt the figure of Lord Murukan in an unconventional style. Normally, in all the temples of Lord Murukan, the deity is sculpted with a splendour of beauty and an expression of charming adolescence. The idols always faced east. In contrast, the idol at Palani temple is quite slim with a saintly expression facing westwards with a shaven head, clad in a saffron loin cloth and holding his baton staff called the daņdāyudham. The recluse and renunciation brought out in the idol's expression, clearly flashes the message, "I am the Fruit of Wisdom". It is astonishing to note that this cleverly composed and delicately sculpted figure of the Lord has stood the effects of devotees pouring their love and devotion in the form of abhishekams. About 6-700 abhishekams are performed every month on kiruttikai days. This delicate idol has withstood all this miraculously and beyond human explanation. Nevertheless, a close examination of the idol will disturb anyone. For the region below the neck, the idol has lost its proportionate shape. The hands and feet are totally eroded by the corrosive action of the abhishekam materials. The region below the knees has become very thin and slender and now the legs look like polio affected legs, thin like two steel rods resting on a pedestal. The body region is not only eroded but appear rugged, with uneven surface and with sharp angular edges. During abhishekam, the archakas are not able to smear and rub oil on the idol, fearing possible cuts from its sharp and rugged surface. At one stage, people thought that the idol would soon buckle and fall for lack of support for the eroded legs. The devotees and the public became concerned about such a condition of the idol of the presiding deity. Several representations were sent to the Tamil Nadu State Government. Realising the seriousness of the situation, the Government took up the issue during the year 1983-84 and started considering various possibilities to ensure that the valuable idol would be preserved without any further damage at the powerful temple at Palani. The Government at one stage considered the possibility of replacing it with a new idol. At this point, the real problem cropped up. There is a code laid down by the agamas that every twelve years a temple should be renovated. On completing the renovation, a kumbabishekam (consecration) of the temple should be performed. But this has never involved the replacement of the idol. This was never done and there was no precedent. The replacement idea never occurred even in temples where the idol is sculpted out of granite. In such cases, the idol is temporarily moved to another location in the temple complex. The idol is re-installed in it's original location with new aśṭabandhanam (an adhesive material made out of herbs and made into a paste by mixing with butter). At Palani, the scenario is totally different. The strong belief is based on the tradition that the idol of the presiding deity is made out of a unique amalgam formulated by Bhogar with his divine power and futuristic thoughts reflecting his concern for future generations. The amalgam is widely believed to have medicinal qualities and curative abilities. The sandal wood paste in particular, applied on the idol and left overnight, is considered to act as a wonder drug, a panacea for many incurable and complex diseases. Every drop of water, coming out of abhishekam is consumed by the devotees with pleasure and many devotees get rid of their chronic ailments. "This curative aspect has a scientific explanation," the Devasthanam claims in one of their publications. One hypothesis says that the idol acts as a store house for millions of good bacteria and when the abhishekam materials flow over the idol the bacteria get mixed with the materials and pass on to the devotees, who get relief from their ailments. The abhishekam materials remain preserved for a considerable period of time, an example to show the curative nature of the abhishekham water. Thus it is not surprising that many siddha medical centres are based in Palani and around the Palani Hills. Since the Lord Daņdāyudhapāni at Palani is the first physician of Tamil tradition, the idea of replacing the existing idol was unacceptable. In order to ensure that the mūlavar will continue to be servicable for generations to come, the Government constituted a special committee. Justice Sadasivam, an eminent judge, a scholar of repute and a man of immense faith in religion, was appointed as the Chairman of this committee. On his assuming charge, he instituted five sub-committees to view the problem from varioius angles. The five respective sub-committees consisted of: heads of large mutts and religious institutions; sthapatis (temple architects); experts on agamas; priests and pandarams; and scientists. THE COMPLAINT AND THE INVESTIGATION 1983 SCANDAL: AS REPORTED: As a first step towards our investigation, we took a close look at the idol of the Lord. We were astonished when we found the face of the idol to be quite fresh with no signs of damage or deterioration. It was so clear that it looked as though the idol was recently installed. An examination of the idol under the magnifying glass, the material appeared to resemble granite or grano-dioritic material. Our happiness and surprise were only short lived, as we moved from the face to the body of the idol. It appeared in marked contrast to the condition we observed on the face of the idol. The entire body region of the idol, was full of distortions, rugged, with flaking sharp edges and the two legs were like slender sticks standing on the pedestal. With its weak support by the thinned down legs, the idol was threatening to buckle and fall down at any time. The very distinct contrast between the face and the body of the idol disproves the theory that the primary cause was the many abhishekhams. If this cause is accepted, then the question arises, "Why does the face remain fresh while the body is showing all these irregularities?" So, once in for all, this theory was rejected. The other theory, concerns the possibility of a conspiracy between the siddha doctors of Palani, the archakas and others who have access to the sanctum sanctorum. Under this scenario, the valuable material from the body region of the idol was being scrapped up by those who have access to the sanctum sanctorum, for marketing the scrappings to the siddha doctors, who in turn diluted the material and included the same in their potions for their eager patients. This, once again reflects the prolific growth of the siddha medical centres in and around Palani. Though the preliminary visual examination of the idol revealed the possibility of the material being of granitic origin. It could not be confirmed, as neither a microscopic examination nor a chemical analysis could be done in the absence of loose material from the idol being available for such detailed investigation. But we were aware that the abhishekam materials flowing over the idol could possibly absorb some of the ingredients from the idol to acquire the medicinal property, curative qualities and offer relief to many devotees from their ailments. Guided by this knowledge and taking a clue from this, we applied sandalwood paste to the idol and let it remain overnight. The next day the sandalwood paste was collected and a solution was prepared for further chemical examination, using a sophisticated instrument, the Perkin-Elmer 707 atomic absorption spectrophotometer to identify the trace elements. A standard solution required for the experiment was made to calibrate the instrument. As the next step, the sandal wood paste solution from the paste left on the idol overnight was subjected to the experiment. The instrument showed no apparent reading. The experiment was repeated several times and the instrument showed a zero absorption. When other samples were tested, the instrument showed positive results but for the sandal wood paste left overnight on the idol of the lord, the result was zero absorption. It was revealed to us as a stupendous moral - that even modern scientific analysis cannot penetrate the Divine Structure. Accordingly, a report was prepared and submitted to the Chairman of the Committee. The Chairman gathered all the reports from all the sub-committees and sent a final report to the Government with his recommendation. The committee recommended that all precautions should be taken to protect the idol by taking a major decision to restrict the number of abhishekams on the Lord. It is also widely believed that the siddha munivar Bhogar had made three identical idols and after installing the present one, the other two idols were hidden somewhere in the Eastern Ghats to be discovered at an appropriate time and by an appropriate person probably, another divine personality for replacing the present idol which had stood the test of time and started showing signs of deterioration. It is here, that one has to understand and accept human limitations. Humans can discover and harness the power of nature, but humans cannot conquer nature which is God's creation. It will be appropriate to recall the observation made by Sir Isaac Newton when praises were showered on him for his great discovery. Sir Isaac Newton modestly remarked. "All that I have done to the human community is to make a common man understand His observable laws". He added further by saying. "God created the forces of gravity. I connect this by a mathematical equation in an understandable way". (REPORT COMPLETED) K Rajaram IRS 3924 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: 'gopala krishnan' via iyer123 <[email protected]> Date: Tue, 3 Sept 2024 at 10:29 Subject: [iyer123] DANDAYUDAPANI TEMPLE- PALANI To: Iyer <[email protected]> DANDAYUDAPANI TEMPLE- PALANI DINDUGAL DISTRICT –TAMILNADU-COMPILED Dear friends, I have visited the Palani temple a few times, earlier times climbing the hill steps, later by rope car services. My last visit was combined with a marriage at Pollachi about 5 years ago. When we reached the temple just like that a deekshithar came and told us- General Queue has not many devotees. So within minutes we had good darsan. Hope a divine reading Gopalakrishnan 3-09-2024 1. INTRODUCTION The temple at Palani dedicated to Lord Dandayuthapani (Lord Murugan) is one of his six famous abodes known as 'aarupadai veedu'. It is situated in the newly formed Dindugal district about 112 km from Madurai and 152 km from Trichi.If one go by the Palghat- Chennai express via Madurai, it will be dimlight sandhya and one can see the temple is fully lighted from the train while crossing Palani railway station The shrine of Lord Thandayuthapani is at the top of a hill about 500 feet high, but there are several shrines and 'theerthams' surrounding the hill itself. One of these is the famous shrine called 'Aavinankudi' situated at the foot of the hill, which is mentioned in old religious verses. It is believed to be more than 2000 years old. Some devotees go round the hill itself before climbing it. 2 LOCATION The temple is about 5 km from the railway station on the Dindugal - Coimbatore line of the Southern Railway. There are bus services from all the major towns in Tamilnadu as well as from the adjoining state of Kerala to Palani. 3 THE TEMPLE The shrine situated at the top of a hill can be reached either by climbing the flight of steps or by travelling in a carriage hauled to the top by winches along rails laid on the side of the hill. Along the steps there are small shrines to various deities with resting places where tired devotees can rest awhile during their climb. There are about 690 steps to the top of the hill. Extensive building works and renovation have created a large area at the top of the hill. Large corridors run on all sides of the temple with various buildings attached to it. The whole complex had been built at a height of 1086 ft above sea level, and standing at the top one realises the mammoth task involved in transporting the building materials to the top of the hill which has no access either by road or rail. 4 LEGEND Sage Agasthiar during one of his trips away from his abode at 'Pothigai' created two hills, Sivagiri and Sakthigiri. He then prayed to Lord Shiva and his consort Sakthi to appear on these hills so that he could offer his daily 'pooja'. In response to his prayer Lord Shiva along with his consort appeared one on each hill. At the end of his worship Agasthiar wanted to take these two hills to his place in Pothigai. He therefore asked his disciple Idumban to transport these two hills. Idumban in response to his preceptor's request tied these two hills in a 'thandu' (pole) and carried them like a 'kavadi' and followed Agasthiar on his journey. Arriving in the area now known as Palani Idumban felt tired and put the 'kavadi' down and rested for a while. While Idumban was resting another event was unfolding in 'Kailash' - the abode of Lord Shiva. Naradha, the celestial wanderer and 'mischief-maker', acquired a rare and precious mango fruit and offered it to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy. Lord Shiva in turn wanted his children to enjoy this rare fruit. So he summoned his two children Subramanya and Ganesha but he could not decide as to who should get this fruit. So he set a contest between them. He told them, "Whoever goes round the Universe and returns to me first will get this fruit". Lord Subramanya without wasting time immediately got on his mount, the peacock, and flew away at a lightning speed, while Lord Ganesha pondered over this problem for a while. He then slowly got up from his perch and went round his parents and requested the fruit for himself, saying, "You are the Universe and all the Universe is in you. By going round you I have gone round the Universe. Therefore the fruit is mine." Parvathy and Parameswaran (another name for Lord Shiva) delighted by these words gave him the fruit. Lord Subramanya on his return found that he had been outwitted by his brother and became angry. He threw down all his ornaments and renouncing all his worldly possessions but with just a loin cloth (Kaupeenam) and a staff (Thandu) went in search of a retreat for himself. On his search he came across the hills that Idumban had laid down and settled on one of them. Idumban after his rest tried to lift his 'kavadi' so that he could continue on his journey but found that he could not lift them. He found out that there was an intruder in one of his hills and tried to attack him without realising who the intruder was. Lord Murugan (Lord Subramanya) immediately killed Idumban but he was later restored to life at the pleadings of Idumban's wife and of Agasthiar. Idumban then prayed to Lord Murugan that he be allowed to stand at the entrance to Lord Murugan's shrines as 'Dwarapalaka' and any devotee carrying a 'kavadi' to these shrines in fulfilment of a vow should be granted his wish. Lord Shiva finding that his son had become a recluse tried to pacify his anger by appealing to him that he (Murugan) himself was the fruit of all the wisdom and righteousness of this world and that he did not need another fruit. The pronouncement that Lord Murugan himself was a fruit (Pazham = Fruit; Nee = yourself) gave the name to this place as 'Palani' The deity on the hill shrine thus appears in the form of an ascetic and stands with just a pole in his right hand and is called 'Thandaayuthapaani' (Thandu = Pole; Aayutham = weapon; Paani = Appearance. There is another hill nearby called 'Idumban malai', the other hill that was carried by Idumban. 5 HISTORY The idol of the Muruga in Palani, was created and consecrated by sage Bogar, one of aaseevaham’s (Ancient Tamil Culture) eighteen great siddhas out of an amalgam of nine poisons or navapashanam. The legend also holds that, the sculptor had to work very rapidly to complete its features, but that he spent so much time in creating the 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 Muruga. The deity, after centuries of worship, fell into neglect and was suffered to be engulfed by the forest. One night, Perumal a king of the Chera Dynastys, 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 Subrahmanyan, appeared to him in a dream, and ordered him to restore the idol to its former state. The king 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 deity appears looking towards Kerala, so that Cheraman Perumal could worship the deity from Kerala. 6 PRIESTS Housed in the garbhagriham, the sanctum sanctorum, of the temple, the deity may be approached and handled only by the temple’s priests, who are members of the Gurukkal community of Palani, and hold hereditary rights of sacerdotal worship at the temple. Other devotees are permitted to come up to the sanctum, while the priests’ assistants, normally of the Pandāram community, are allowed up to the ante-chamber of the sanctum sanctorum. 7 POOJAS AND OPENING TIME OF THE TEMPLE The early morning worship starts at 6 am. The temple is open all day until the last worship is conducted at 8 pm. On festival days the temple opens at 4.30 a.m. There are six poojas performed in the temple, namely, the Vilaa pooja at 6.30 a.m., Siru Kall pooja at 8.00 a.m., Kaala Santhi at 9.00 a.m., Utchikkala Pooja at 12.00 noon, Raja Alankaram at 5.30 p.m., Iraakkaala pooja at 8.00 p.m. The Golden Car can be viewed at 6.30 p.m. 8 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES One of the main traditions of the temple, is the tonsuring of devotees, who vow to discard their hair in imitation of the Lord of Palani. Another is the anointing of the head of the presiding deity’s idol with sandalwood paste, at night, prior to the temple being closed for the day. The paste, upon being allowed to stay overnight, is said to acquire medicinal properties, and is much sought after and distributed to devotees, as rakkāla chandaṇam. Traditionally, the hill-temple of Palani is supposed to be closed in the afternoon and rather early in the evening to permit the deity to have adequate sleep, being but a child, and therefore, easily tired by the throngs of devotees and their constant importunations. A tradition that is not very well known is that of the Paḷḷi-Arai or bedroom, wherein, each night, the Lord is informed of the status of the temple’s accounts for the day, by the custodians of the temple, and then put to sleep to the singing of an ōdhuvār or bard. Devotees carry kavadi, an ornamental mount decked with flowers, glazed paper and tinsel work and wearing ochre clothes themselves on foot from long distances is a commonly followed worship practice. Panchamirdam (mixture of five) is believed to be a divine mix prepared by Vinayagar at the end of the divine encounter. He mixed honey, dates, banana, raisins and jiggery and distributed it to Shiva Karthikeya. The practice is followed in modern times where the devotees are provided Panchamirdam as a Prasad. 9 FESTIVALS The main festivals fall on 'Thaipoosam' in January; 'Panguni uththaram' in March; 'Vaikasi visakam' in May; 'Skanda sashdi' in Oct/Nov. 'Pankuni uththaram in March is the main festival and draws large crowds from all over Tamilnadu and the neighbouring state of Kerala. 10 INTERESTING FEATURES The idol of the deity in the hill shrine is made up of a wax-like substance and is believed to be an amalgam made up of nine different herbal substances while others believe it to be of nine rare minerals. Devotees believe that any substance that comes into contact with the body of this idol acquires miraculous curing powers for many illnesses. The materials used on this idol during 'abishekams' (purifying ablution), especially the sandal paste used to cover the body overnight are highly sought after. It can also be observed that the 'panchamirtham' (a mixture of fruits and honey) used in the 'abishekam' is kept for long periods without any preservative in it. These are distributed to the devotees who do not suffer any ill effects when they ingest it. 11 HOW TO REACH: By Air-Nearest Airport is Madurai . By Train-Nearest Railway Station is Palani. By Road-Direct buses are available from all the cities of Tamil Nadu. 12 ADMINISTRATION AND ADDRESS Joint Commissioner/Executive Officer Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Thirukkovil, Palani - 624 601 Tamil Nadu, INDIA Tel : 04545 241417, 242236. -- To go to your groups page on the web, login to your gmail account and then click on https://groups.google.com/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "iyer123" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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