Virali Malai is on the Madurai-Tiruchi road. The Murugan temple here is located on a small hillock. Here Murugan is seated on a peacock, and has six faces and twelve hands, said Desa Mangayarkkarasi in a discourse. Murugan’s six faces are Isana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva, Satyojata and Athomukha. The story about Murugan is that He appeared as six babies, who were all fused together into one form by Ambal. Murugan therefore came to have a rupa with six faces and twelve hands. This is described by Kachiappa Sivachariyar in his Kanda Puranam. One can see many peacocks as one climbs the hill.
The story about the temple is that a hunter once chased a tiger, which disappeared near a tree. Those who followed the hunter concluded that the place was divine and began to worship there. A temple for Shanmukha came up later in this place. Arunagirinatha had been summoned from Thiruvannamalai to Vayalur by Murugan. When he was in Vayalur, Murugan appeared in his dream and asked him to come to Virali Malai. Arunagirinatha immediately left for Virali Malai. But it was midnight and he lost his way. A hunter who happened to pass by offered to show him the way. With the hunter’s help, Arunagirinatha reached his destination. He wanted to thank the hunter who had guided him. But when he tried to thank him, he found that the hunter had vanished. Arunagirinatha then realised that the hunter was none other than Murugan. In Virali Malai, Arunagirinatha was blessed by Murugan with the ashtamasiddhis — eight super powers. In his verses, Arunagirinatha describes the beauty of the place, the abundance of kondrai flowers in the area and the peacocks on the hill, besides giving us philosophical truths. Even now an annual festival of Arunagirinatha is celebrated in the temple.
