Kazhugumalai

Kazhugumalai, a small village located 22 km from Kovilpatti, south Tamil Nadu, houses the famous Kandasamy temple. This place can be reached from Sankarankovil also. Kazhugumalai is one of the ancient Murugan temples in Tamil Nadu.

This place is also known as Then Palani (South Palani), Sampathi Kshetram, Gajamuga Parvatham, Kazhugachalam, Uvanagiri and many more names. Each name has some story behind it.

Arunagirinathar has sung about the Kazhugumalai temple in his Thirupugazh. Muthuswamy Dikshitar also has sung about this pilgrimage place.

The main deity in this temple is Kazhugachalamurthy. The temple and the tank are located at the foothills of a 300 feet high hill.

Temple history

According to historical facts, a king by name Adi Madhura Pandian was ruling Pazhankottai and its adjoining areas. There was a forest called Uvanavanam, above which a 300 feet hill named Uvanagiri was situated. Once, Adi Madhura Pandian felt very tired after hunting in the forest. So he decided to take rest in the forest.

He saw a cow pouring its milk over a rock and also heard the sound of a bell ringing. So he ran towards it. Seeing the king, the cow fled.

The king returned to the palace and started thinking about the incident. That night, Lord Muruga appeared in the dream of a Sivacharya and asked him to tell the king that he has to built a temple at the place where the cow let out its milk.

Adi Madhura Pandian opened the rock and to his surprise, there was a cave beneath where he found an idol of Lord Muruga. The king took up the work and built a temple. This is how the temple was built on rock on top of the hill.

Kandasashti festival is celebrated here with great festivity. Thai Poosam, Panguni Uttiram and Vaikasi Visakam are also celebrated here.