01Tanigai, the calm hill
Tanigai means calming. The Kanda Puranam tells that after the great war Murugan came here and his fury subsided; here too he married Valli, the daughter of a hunter chief, whom he had wooed in the forests of nearby Vallimalai. The temple stands on the hilltop, and pilgrims climb 365 steps, one for each day of the year. On the night of 31 December devotees sing on every step in the Padi Utsavam, a custom begun in 1917 by Vallimalai Swamigal so that Murugan’s devotees would greet the new year at his feet. Arunagirinathar sang Tiruttani in the Tiruppugazh.
02Dikshitar and Radhakrishnan
Muthuswami Dikshitar came to Tiruttani as a young man after years at Kashi. The tradition of his family tells that as he sat in meditation an old man put sugar candy in his mouth and vanished, and Dikshitar knew it was Murugan as Guruguha. He then sang his first kriti, ‘Shri Nathadi Guruguho jayati’, and took Guruguha as the signature of all his songs. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, philosopher and second President of India, was born in Tiruttani town on 5 September 1888, and that day is kept in India as Teachers’ Day.
The life of this place
- 5 September 1888S. Radhakrishnan was born in Tiruttani.
- 1917 CEVallimalai Swamigal began the New Year Padi Utsavam on the temple steps.
About 85 km west of Chennai on the Arakkonam–Tirupati line; there is a road to the hilltop, but many still climb the steps. Aadi Krittikai (July–August) is the great festival.
