page_title: Palani
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Palani / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Tamil Inscriptions at Pazhani Temple
context_page_description: Palani north-west of Madurai, and 67 kilometres (42 mi) from Kodaikanal. The Palani Murugan Temple or Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple (Thiru Avinankudi), dedicated to Lord Murugan is situated on a hill overlooking the town. The temple is visited by more than 7 million pilgrims each year. As of 2011, the town had a population of 70,467 which makes it the second largest town in the district after Dindigul.
context_section_description: References to the place exist in ancient Tamil devotional texts. According to Hindu mythology, "Sage Narada once visited the celestial court of Lord Sivan 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 Sivan expressing his intention of dividing the fruit between his two sons, Ganesha and Muruga, the sage counselled against cutting it. He decided to award it to whomever of his two sons first circled the world thrice. Accepting the challenge, Lord Murugan started his journey around the globe on his mount peacock. However, Ganesha, who surmised that the world was no more than his parents Shiva and Shakti combined, circumambulated them". Pleased with their son's discernment, Lord Shiva awarded the fruit to Lord Ganesha. When Murugan returned, he was furious to learn that his efforts had been in vain. He left Kailash and took up his abode in Palani hills in South India. It is believed that Murugan felt the need to get matured from boyhood and hence chose to remain as a hermit and discarded all his robes and ornaments. He went into meditation to know about himself.
  Palani and most of Dindigul district were part of the Kongu Nadu region of the Tamil country. The northern part of the Palani and Oddanchatram taluks is held to have been part of the Anda Nadu sub-region, whereas the rest of the area constituted the Vaiyapuri Nadu. The area was under the influence of the rulers of Coimbatore and Madurai, at various points of time. In the 18th century, Hyder Ali and his son, Tippu Sultan ruled over the place before being annexed the British after the Third Anglo-Mysore War.
caption: Tamil Inscriptions at Pazhani Temple
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