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The temple was built by Thiruvarutchelvar Sivakami Ammaiyar. 

There are 625 steps to reach the temple at the hill top. This is also called Tirikoodamalai. At the entrance of the hill, there is a shrine for Lord Vallabha Vinayaka. 

Once there was only Vel - the weapon of Lord Muruga, in the temple. The priest of the Temple, Poovan Pattar was performing pujas for the Vel. 

While he was relaxing under a tamarind tree after the puja one day, Lord Muruga appeared in his dream and said that the hill belonged to Him and that He was in the form of a vigraham at Kottaithiradu, a little away from the place. 

The Lord asked the priest to go to the place where ants would be moving in a line and that He was there. 

The priest informed the king. The vigraham was taken from the pit and installed. The temple was built by the Pandala king.

One Sivakami Ammal was living in this place with her husband Gangaimuthu Thevar. They had no child. Deciding to erect a stone mandap in the hill temple, the woman carried bricks and stones to the temple with such determination and faith seeking  the boon of a child.

 Yet, her wish was not fulfilled. One Varadar Masthan, a saint of the place, advised her to adopt Lord Muruga Himself as her son. 

The lady readily accepted and willed all her assets to Lord Muruga. She also sued people who stole properties of the temple for illegal possession of properties belonging to the Lord in Puliarai village in the Tiruvananthapuram court producing epigraphic evidence and recovered them. 

The copies of the epigraphic evidence are still available.

The sacred spring at the top of the hill is called Ashta Padmakulam. It is presently called Poonchunai. 

The seven virgins (Saptha Kannikas) worshipped Muruga. While the idols of Saptha Kannikas are found only in Lord Shiva temple, they are installed on the banks of the spring in this temple too. The seven powers of Mother Parvathi are called Saptha Kannikas.

The temple Address : Lord Tirumalai Kumaraswamy Temple, Panpozhi - 627 807, Sengottai, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu.

Panpozhi is 12 km from Tenkasi and 6 km from Sengottai. There is a road up to the hilltop temple in addition to the steps to climb the hill.