PALANI STHALA PURANAM : The Legendary, Historical and Spiritual Significance of the Hill Temple. There is a legend how Lord Murugan came to this sacred spot. Narada Muni, a sage, brought a golden mango to the divine court of Lord Siva when Lord Siva was seated with his consort Parvati and His children Lord Vinayakar and Lord Subrahmanya. Narada gave the fruit to Lord Siva and implored Him to eat since it was a rare, miraculous Jñanapalam, the fruit of wisdom. As a loving husband, Lord Siva gave it to Parvati and requested her to eat. As a loving mother, she wanted to give the fruit to her children. As there was only one fruit and it should not be cut, they announced a contest and said that the winner would be given the fruit. Whoever completes one round of the globe first will be given the fruit.

Lord Subrahmanya mounted His peacock to go around the world. Lord Vinayakar circumambulated around His parents, symbolising the world, and got the fruit. On return, Lord Subrahmanya found that He was cheated. In anger, He renounced His family and came to this spot to settle forever. Lord Siva and Parvati came to pacify Him. They said, "Pazham Nee" ('You are the Fruit'). Hence the name Palani is a popular syncopation of the two words mentioned.

The presiding deity, Lord 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, Kuriñjiandavar, Arumugan, Jñana Pandita, Saravanan, Sevar Kodiyon, etc. Tamils, Keralites, Bengalis, Sri Lankans, Malaysians, Fijians, Africans, Australians and Americans to name a few come here to worship Lord Muruga. Thus Murugan worship cuts across provincial boundaries and national frontiers.

Cheaman Perumal, a ruler of Kerala, built the main temple perhaps in the 7th Century AD. The Nayaks built the Navaranga Mandapam which is a fascinating stone structure incorporated by four pillars and endowed with nine bays. The other portions of the temple have been built by the Pandiya kings, besides a number of local heads, religious groups and individual devotees.

HOW TO REACH PALANI :

Airways : Palani is located equidistant from Coimbatore, Trichy and Madurai Airports.

Railways : There was a metre gauge line between Coimbatore and Dindigul via Palani. By conversion, on 20th Nov 2012, PALANI entered BG Map of Indian Railway, successfully connected with Dindigul. Initially getting 3 services from PALANI and 3 services from Dindigul.

Roadways : National Highway NH 209 connects Palani to Coimbatore and Bangalore via:Chamrajnagar, Kanakapura. There are frequent buses to Dindigul, Coimbatore, Madurai, Erode, Tirupur, Pollachi, Karur, Trichy. Many Omni buses are available to Chennai, Bangalore and Kodaikanal.

HOW TO REACH PALANI HILL TEMPLE :

There are 5 ways on the hill to reach the Palani Murugan temple. The 4 ways are mentioned below, the 4th way  is not widely used by public. It is known asTheertha Pathai - Theertham for Abishegam is brought through this way.

1. STEPS ROUTE
2. ELEPHANT PATH
3. WINCH FACILITY
4. ROPE CAR FACILITY

At the starting of the steps route there is a temple for Lord Ganesh ( also known as Vinayagar ). Since this Vinayagar is at the steps, He is known asPaadha Vinayagar ( Vinayagar at steps ).