Saturday 2 July 2011

The Legend or Sthala Purana of Palani

Lord Murugan is the deity in Palani (Tiru Avinankudi) . The temple at Palani is an ancient one, situated at an elevation of 1500 feet above sea level . The deity of Palani is known as Dandayudhapani Swami , is the son of Lord Siva and son-in-law of Vishnu. He has other names such as Kulandaivelan, Balasubrahmanyan, Shanmukhan, Devasenapati, Swaminathan, Vallimanalan, Devayanaimanalan, Palaniandavar, Kurinjiandavar, Arumugan, Jnana Pandita, Saravanan, Sevar Kodiyonthe.


The deity at the sanctum sanctorum is made out of an amalgam of nine minerals popularly called Navabashana. The Lord having the Staff in his Hand. The deity is in a standing position with a baton in his hand. He has the look of a person who has renounced all worldly pomp. He has just a loincloth besides the baton. He is a mute messenger of the great precept 'Renounce all to reach Me'. The icon is unique in the whole world. It was made by siddha Bhogar by combining nine poisonous substances (navabashana).


The Legend or Sthala Purana of Palani :


As per the Hindu mythology, Sage Narada once visited the divine court of Lord Shiva at Mount Kailash. Lord Shiva was with his consort, Goddess Shakti, and their two children, Lord Ganesha and Lord Subrahmanya. Sage Narada gave Lord Shiva a fruit and told him that it was a special one, the fruit of wisdom (Jnana-Pazham).Lord Shiva wanted his children to have the fruit of wisdom. However, when he offered it to them to be shared between the two sons, Sage Narada requested not to cut the fruit in two, lest the power be diminished. As a result, they had to decide to conduct a simple competition to decide who should get the fruit. Shiva and Shakti decided that the son who first circled the Earth would get the fruit. Immediately accepting the challenge, Lord Murugan started his journey around the globe on his divine vehicle, the peacock. Lord Ganesha, who believed that his parents were his world, simply circumbulated Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti and claimed the mango fruit. Lord Subrahmanya returned to Mount Kailash, only to find that Lord Ganesha had already won the contest. Lord Murugan felt he had been deceived and decided to leave Mount Kailasam. He reached to top of what is today called Pazhani malai and set up his abode there. Goddess Shakti and Lord Shiva rushed to the hill and tried to pacify their son, calling him, Gnana Pazham Nee appa (in Tamil, "you are the fruit - Pazham; of wisdom - Gnana"). Hence this place came to be called Pazhani, or Palani.

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