Palani Murugan Temple – Geographical Location
Palani town is 472 Kms away from Chennai. It has area of
6.63Sq.KM and is located at 10.3 N and 77.3 E of the meridian. It is about 309
– 323 m above sea level, and has a rainfall of 560mm annually. Getting rain by
the North – East Monsoon, this town is situated 10 Kms away from the range of
the Western Ghats on the South, called the Palani Hills. Kodaikanal a famous
tourist township is situated on these hills, at a height of 2133 Meters. The
Shanmuga River (consisting of Palar, Porundalar, Varadhamanadhi, Pachaiyar,
Kallar and Kanar) flows from these hills and is 3KM away from Palani. Its
length is 19 Kms.
Palani’s temperature is 22 Deg C – 35 Deg C. The Palani
Hills, famous in the Sangam Literature, has a height of 160 Meters. It has a
path around it, and measuring 2.84 Kms. The Hill has 689 steps to reach the
top, and is surrounded by various medicinal herbs and trees like Sandalwood,
Kadamba, etc., as also fields and groves. Important places around Palani Kodaikanal,
the Queen of the south Indian Hills is situated near Palani and is an important
tourist centre.
Periyanayagi Amman temple, Periyavudaiyar temple, Dams
at Palani Porundalar, the garden of herbs etc., situated in an area of about 7
Kms radius around Palani. The Kurinji Andavar temple at Kodaikanal is a famous
shrine. There is a temple for Lord Muruga at Poomparai. The Kurinji plant which
blossoms once in 12 years is seen in this area.
The Palani temple is considered to be the foremost among
Murugan temples of Tamil Nadu. Thousands of devotees come and worship here
throughout the year. Apart from the people of Tamil Nadu, those from Andhra,
Karnataka, Kerala, etc., also come from large numbers and worship here. So the
temple here always has a festival look. Lord Gnanadandayudhapani, in the form
of Guru, showers his grace on the devotees.
This place is situated at a distance of 56 Kms from
Dindigul, 472 Kms from Chennai, 114 Kms from Madurai, 103 Kms from Coimbatore,
126 Kms from Erode and 156 Kms from Trichy.