Palani

Palani பழநி Pazhani
town
Clockwise from top left: Gopuram of Palani Murugan temple, Winch pulled car climbing uphill, Shanmuga river, View of temple atop the hill
Palani Location in Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates: 10°27′N 77°31′E / 10.45°N 77.52°E / 10.45; 77.52Coordinates: 10°27′N 77°31′E / 10.45°N 77.52°E / 10.45; 77.52
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Dindigul
Population (2011)
• Total	70,467
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	624 601
Telephone code	91 4545
Vehicle registration	TN 57

(Tamil:பழநி) Palani (or Pazhani) is a town and a municipality in Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north-west of Madurai, 100 kilometres (62 mi) South-east of Coimbatore, and 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Dindigul. The Palani Murugan Temple dedicated to Hindu war God Kartikeya 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.

The town derives its name from the compounding of two Tamil words pazham meaning fruit and nee meaning you, a reference to poet Avvaiyar's song praising Lord Muruga which forms part of the legend of the Palani Murugan temple. Palani is pronounced using the retroflex approximant ɻ (ழ) and is thus also spelt using the 'zh' digraph as "Pazhani".

References to the place exist in ancient Tamil devotional texts. According to Hindu mythology, "Sage Narada once visited the celestial court of Lord Shiva 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 Shiva expressing his intention of dividing the fruit between his two sons, Ganesha and Karthikeya, 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 Karthikeya 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, circumnambulated them". Pleased with their son's discernment, Lord Shiva awarded the fruit to Lord Ganesha. When Kartikeya 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 Karthikeya 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.