Palani Murugan Temple – History
The idol of the Lord Muruga in Palani was created and
consecrated by sage Bogar, one of Hinduism's 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 its features, but that he spent so
much time in creating the face of Lord Muruga, 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.
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 Lord 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 History of Palani written by Balasubramania Kaviraayar
speaks about the glory of this place. This contains 23 chapters in 987 verses,
and was written in 1628AD. The Temple Office has released a new and revised
book in 1998.
Interesting legends from the Puranas (Hindu texts) that
go back by more than 2000 years are associated with each of these temples of
Kumara (Muruga, Karthikeya). The six temples are Tiruparankundram,
Thiruchendur, Palani, Swamimalai, Tiruthani and Palamuthircholai. References to
these temples are found in ancient Tamil literature like Silappathikaram.
Tirumurukatrupadai - sung by the Tamizh saint poet
Nakkeerar in 1st century CE - gives each of these six holy places prominence
and importance. The poems also reveal that all of these temples were well
established even during the Sangam age from 1st to 3rd century CE. It has also
been praised by Saint Arunagirinathar in his Thirupugazh and in Kandar
Alankaram.
According to historical records, the main icon of
Palaniandavar idol in Dhandayuthapani Temple is made up of Navapashanam — an
amalgamation of Veeram, Pooram, Rasam, Jathilingam, Kandagam, Gauri Pasanam,
Vellai Pasanam, Mridharsingh, Silasat. These are 9 potent herbs combined in a
particular proportion so that it has strong medicinal power to cure diseases.
It was originally designed and put together by a Siddhar called Bhoghar.