Mysterious Cave Atop Palani Bhogar Worshiped Devi

Palani Dhandayuthapani is our Family Deity.

Some years back, when I went to Palani, I was asked by a stranger in the Temple the directions to visit Bhogar Shrine in the complex.

Though I have been visiting the Palani Temple ,I never knew that there was a Shrine for Bhogar.

I asked the Priests for directions and went to the Shrine.

I was reciting,if I recall correctly the Durga Suktha,when the priest at the Bhogar Shrine asked me to have a look at an Idol of Rajarajeswari worshiped by Bhogar.

He gave me the Idol in a Velvet cloth and it was very beautiful.

I had darshan and left with no further thought on the subject.

This was about 30 years ago.

Though I know some thing Siddhas, I did not know much till recently.

I have been, for the past few days, trying to find information on the Devi and Bhogar worship.

Only today I have been able to get some information on this.

It seems that there is an opening at the top of the Sivagiri(Palani), with a cavern underneath it and Bhogar is reported to have worshiped Devi there, with Pulipani as his Guard.

Read on.

‘

At the top of Palani Hill, near the holy Murugan which Bhogar had crafted from nine poisonous substances, there is an opening in the Earth; it is a hole in the ground; the mouth of a cave which lies below. Bhogar often lowered himself into the Earth, sat in the cave, accessing Life’s hidden secrets. He performed great austerities there, the magnitude of which very few in this modern age can fathom.

There at the opening Bhogar erected a humble shrine to the Great Mother: a few yantras, a couple of five-metal icons baring the form of the Mother and her son Murugan. He worshipped a small emerald lingam there, about ten inches in height. His one and only disciple, Pulipani (perhaps the only one who truly understood the sage), kept him company at the entrance to the underground cavern on the top of Palani Hill.

When Bhogar felt that his outer work was done, he entered the gateway of earth and stone and sat down in the darkness of the cave. Faithful Pulipani heaved a stone slab over the entrance, sealing Bhogar forever in the blackness of his earthen womb.

For thirteen generations Pulipani’s descendants have watched over that stone slab that marks the gateway to the underground chamber. Long ago, Bhogar’s little shrine was set atop that hallowed spot, and even today, is still worshipped by the vigilant sons of the faithful Pulipani. They say that Bhogar is seated quietly in meditation even now; alone in the darkness; watching the slow passage of time.

His breath is still. His mind is quiet, his heart unwavering; but through the dense dark matter of his earthly form stabs the vibrant & relentless flame of the Kundalini Shakti. There he waits…

‘At the top of Palani Hill, near the holy Murugan which Bhogar had crafted from nine poisonous substances, there is an opening in the Earth; it is a hole in the ground; the mouth of a cave which lies below. Bhogar often lowered himself into the Earth, sat in the cave, accessing Life’s hidden secrets. He performed great austerities there, the magnitude of which very few in this modern age can fathom.

There at the opening Bhogar erected a humble shrine to the Great Mother: a few yantras, a couple of five-metal icons baring the form of the Mother and her son Murugan. He worshipped a small emerald lingam there, about ten inches in height. His one and only disciple, Pulipani (perhaps the only one who truly understood the sage), kept him company at the entrance to the underground cavern on the top of Palani Hill.

When Bhogar felt that his outer work was done, he entered the gateway of earth and stone and sat down in the darkness of the cave. Faithful Pulipani heaved a stone slab over the entrance, sealing Bhogar forever in the blackness of his earthen womb.

For thirteen generations Pulipani’s descendants have watched over that stone slab that marks the gateway to the underground chamber. Long ago, Bhogar’s little shrine was set atop that hallowed spot, and even today, is still worshipped by the vigilant sons of the faithful Pulipani. They say that Bhogar is seated quietly in meditation even now; alone in the darkness; watching the slow passage of time.

His breath is still. His mind is quiet, his heart unwavering; but through the dense dark matter of his earthly form stabs the vibrant & relentless flame of the Kundalini Shakti. There he waits…

Courtesy: Forward to Shaking the Tree: Kundalini Yoga, Spiritual Alchemy, & the Mysteries of the Breath in Bhogar’s 7000 English rendering by Layne Little

http://www.alchemywebsite.com/bhogar1.html