Sage Agastya wanted to take two hills—Sivagiri and Sakthigiri—to his abode in the South and commissioned his disciple Idumban to carry them. Idumban bore the hills slung across his shoulders, in the form of a kavadi one on either side. When he was fatigued, he placed the kavadi near Palani to take rest.

At this stage, Subrahmanya or Muruga had been outwitted in a contest for going round the world. Ganapati had won the prized fruit (pomegranate or mango) by simply going round His parents. Long after, this, Subrahmanya came sweating on His peacock to find that the prize had already been given away.

In anger, the frustrated child left the divine parents and came down to Tiru Avinankudi at the Adivaram (pronounced Adivāram, it means 'foot of the Sivagiri Hill'). Siva pacified Him by saying that He (Subrahmanya) Himself was the fruit (pazham) of all wisdom and knowledge; nee —you.

Hence the place was called 'Pazham Nee' or Palani. Later, He withdrew to the hill and settled there as a recluse in peace and solitude.

When Idumban resumed his journey, he could not lift the hill. Muruga had made it impossible for Idumban to make it. In the fierce battle that ensued, Idumban was killed but was later on restored to life. Idumban prayed that:

1.whosoever carried on his shoulders the Kavadi, signifying the two hills and visited the temple on a vow, should be blessed and

2.He should be given the privilege of standing sentinel at the entrance to the hill.

Hence we have the Idumban shrine halfway up the hill where every pilgrim is expected to offer obeisance to Idumban before entering the temple of Dandāyudhapani.

Since then, pilgrims to Palani bring their offerings on their shoulders in a kavadi. The custom has spread from Palani to all Muruga shrines worldwide.

Idumban's Mistake and the Resulting battle

In the mean time Idumban had decided to resume his journey and came up to lift the Sivagiri hill, but with Lord Murugan taking the form of a child and standing upon hill it was impossible to do so. Idumban mistaking Lord Murugan for an ordinary child told him to get off the mountain. Lord Murugan refused. In the fight between them Idumban tasted an unusual defeat in the hands of the celestial child Murugan. Only after suffering a crushing defeat had Idumban understood that he had fought with the divine Murugan. He had realized his mistake and asked Lord Murugan to fulfill two wishes.

Idumban's Wishes and the Beginning of Kavadi Tradition

1. He should be given the opportunity to stand as guard -Dwaraga Balan of the Lord-at this Murugan's abode. And then,
2. Whoever takes a Kavadi, symbolizing the mountains, as a vow to this holy shrine must be blessed.

Kavadi

Kavadi is the vow in which People have to shoulder the two vessels connected to the both ends of a stick, each at one end. The baskets will be full of offerings like milk or tender coconut or Annam/ rice as per their wish. They will have to carry the kavadi and its contents to Lord Murugan at Palani.

Symbolization of Kavadi:

Now just think of Idumban carrying the hills Sakthigiri and Sivagiri tied to a celestial stick on his shoulders and his request to Lord for the devotees.

Now let us understand what is the Real significance of Kavadi by splitting the word and we get 'Kavi'- saffron, the colour denoting abstinence and 'adi' -here it implies pilgrimage. So Kavadi is a process of accepting the Divinity's power over all Mortals. It is the symbolism of humbleness in life and faith in god. So the devotee takes a pledge of abstinence for a certain period of time and travels to Palani by foot. He should lead a life of simplicity and humbleness without ego during this time. This small practice is expected to be extended throughout his life making him a good human being.

There are different kinds of Kavadi:

Pal kavadi
In palkavadi, the devotee bears milk in form of kavadi to offer Lord Murugan.

Anna kavadi
In annakavadi, the devotee bears food such as cooked rice as an offering to Lord Murugan.

Saravana Poigai:

Saravana Poigai is a sacred pond at Thiru Aavinankudi at the adivaram of Sivagiri.

The belief is that an individual's sins are washed away once he takes a dip in this pool. There is a precondition that one must take a dip at Saravana poigai and then only enter the temple.

The Story of Saravanapoigai:

Saravana poigai was originally considered to be the pool in Himalayas, from which the Divine Lord Murugan emerged on the will of Lord Shiva.

All Devas complained about the misdeeds of Surabadman and his Asuras. Then Lord Shiva opened his third eye and emitted six fire sparks. All these six sparks were turned into six beautiful babies in Saravanapoigai.Goddess Parvathi made all of them into one baby with six faces and so the name came-Arumugam.