About Sivanmalai Information

     Sivanmalai is located 5 km away from Kangeyam and 40 km north of Dharapuram near Coimbatore.  Arunagirinathar, the saint poet of Tiruvannamalai has sung of Sivanmalai in his Tiruppugazh, where he refers to this shrine as Pattiyalur.  Lord Muruga was worshipped by Sivavakya Siddhar here. Legend has it that Murugan married VAlli against the wishes of her kinsmen who pursued the couple to Sivanmalai all of the tribal huntsmen who fought with the couple were slain.  An ahast  Valli requested Murugan to restore to life, a long list of her kinsmen and Murugan obliged and restored all the Vedars to life.

The Hill

     It is believed that this is a piece of the Sanjeevani hill carried by Hanuman from the Himalayas to restore Lakshmana to life, with the medicinal herbs that grew on it.  Another hill nearby associated with the same legend is Udiyurmalai and both these hills are believed to have rare medicinal herbs.

The Temple

     The temple is built on a hillock and is accessed through a flight of 200 steps.  The main shrine enshrines Subramanyar with Valli and Deivayanai.

Tradition

     From time to time, Sivanmalai Andavar appears in the dream of an ardent devotee and requests that a certain object (like sand, water, etc) be kept in pooja becomes scarce. For example, sand kept in pooja would mean the price of land would go up, water in pooja  means that a drought could be impending, etc.

Festivals

     Kartika asterism and new moon days in each month are considered to be of significance at Sivanmalai. Skandasashti is celebrated in great splendor as in other Murugan temple.  Other festivals here include Thai Poosam, Aadi Kritikai and Pankuni Uthiram.