Once upon a time, Saint Dhurvasar reached Kunnathur that lies 18 KMs south of present Gobi
town. Then he found out that a place called
Modachur on the outskirts of present Gobi town is a good place to perform his routine worship
of Shiva. While workshipping, he wanted to have Darshan of Lord Subramanya. Not finding a
temple, he went into penance to find out the best place for the worship.
He found through his
penance that there is a Subramanya temple on a small hill at a distance of around 1.5 kms from
Modachur and the main deity faced west. The saint reached the hill to find Lord Subramanya
and continued his worship. He also learnt the similarities between the temple and Palani where
the Lord is facing west as Dhandapani. All these events were forgotten as time proceeded. Around 1954, a landlord named
P.K.Kuppuswamy Gounder visited the temple. The life turned around for him that moment as
he decided to renovate the temple. This was after he felt that the Lord is not taken care by
anybody. He understood the need for regular poojai and the care that the temple craves. Starting then, the renovation moved into a fast pace. First Swarnabandhana
MahaKumbabishekam was performed in 1980 led by Thiru.P.K.Eswaran as renovation
committee head. Since then, scores of people have joined the renovation committee and lot of
work has happened in the temple. The latest and second Swarnabandhana Kumbabishekam was performed around June
2006. It is uncommon to find Swarnabandhanam being done for the deities. You can really
count the number of temples where Swarnabandhanam (Gold plating the base of statue where
it stands) has been performed for deities in Tamilnadu and elsewhere. It should be noted that a large wooden chariot runs around Pachaimalai for every Panguni
Uthiram during the Chariot (Ther) Festival. It is the largest wooden chariot in this area after
Avinashi Ther. A golden chariot is available for Murugan to play around his abode. The beauty
of Dhandapani in golden chariot should be seen and as it is unexplainable. Arulmigu Dhandapani
goes to golden chariot in his mount 'golden peacock' with complete golden attire. This cannot be
seen even in Palani and Thiruchendur. Now, there is seven period regular poojai performed with two period of Abishekam daily. The night time ArdhaJaama Poojai is performed in comparison with Palani. The temple is located in Gobichettipalayam, a quiet town in the Erode district. Gobi, as it is
shortly called, has two hill temples - Pachaimalai and Pavalamalai. This is considered to be
a great reason to justify the town's ethics. Pachaimalai is also colloquially pronounced as
'Pachamalai'
Arulmigu Balamurugan, the child god, son of Shiva Parvathi, the god of army, the teacher of all,
finds his place in this scenic hill temple. The Lord appears in a very beautiful form and it is very
difficult to take one's eye off. The Poojai activities at Pachaimalai are renowned. The 'ArthaJama' poojai resembles the one at
Palani. Arulmigu Balamurugan takes the simplest form with white clothes sans his ornamental
jewels. This is the most peaceful scene, one can ever get in his life. Though the temple is old, the structure has been built starting 1967. The most recent 'Swarna
Bandhana Kumbabishekam' was held in June 2006. Other deities residing in the temple are Vidya Ganapathi (form of common sense, quick wit
and knowledge), Maragadha Venkatesa Perumal, Maragatheeswarar, Maragatha Valli,
Guru Dhakshinamurthy, Kalyana Subramanyar, Anjaneyar, Navagraham and Kala Bhairavar. Urchava
Murthys are Dhandayudhapani, Shanmugar, Subramanyar Pradhosha Moorthy and Aiyappar. Golden
Chariot and Golden Peacock mount have been donated by the public to the Almighty. A
wooden chariot runs around the hill during Panguni Uthiram Chariot Festival. The temple is renowned for the 'Vaasthu' poojai where people bring the first brick to perform
poojai at the Sannidhanam. 'Ayyappa Maalai' in Karthigai month is also started here. Couples who are in need of children perform their Sashti fasting here. It is a belief that the
couple in fasting at Pachaimalai would get a child. Anyone who is not married pray 'Kalyana'
Subramanyar and Guru Dakshinamurthy for their requests to be answered.
