Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple

Palani's hilltop temple is one of the six Arupadaiveedu, the principal shrines of Murugan in Tamil religious geography, its ascetic Dhandayuthapani form said to commemorate the god's retreat here after a mythological dispute over a fruit. The presiding image is traditionally described as cast from navapashanam, a medicinal nine-metal alloy, and is bathed daily in rituals believed to carry therapeutic properties, a distinctive feature among South Indian temple traditions. Pilgrims reach the granite hilltop shrine via 690 steps or a mechanised rail car, both offering views over the surrounding plains. Present structures date largely from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, though the hill's sacred status is considerably older, and the site remains one of Tamil Nadu's most visited pilgrimage destinations outside the Chola heartland.