The Navapashana idol of Palani Murugan temple, Tamil Nadu

Bogar making herbal idol of god Muruga, Palani, TN navabhasanasiddhar.50webs.com

Palani temple hill, TN indianetzone.com

The most fascinating aspect of Palani Murugan temple in Palani, 60 km from Dindugul city Tamil Nadu is here the main idol (Moolavar) is made of an amalgam of herbal paste called Navapashanam (nava+pashanam. Nava means ‘nine’ and pashanam means ‘poisonous substance’). It was made by none other than a great Siddhar called Bhogar who was living in this part 4000 years ago(?). One among the seven disciples of Nandi Devar. Bogar was conversant with countless herbs available on the hills there and their medicinal values, etc and it is said, he classified 64 types of poisons out of which 32 were naturally occurring and the other 32 were just artificial.

Siddha dvashram.com

Above image: Bogar or Bhogar, a Tamil siddhar who lived sometime between 550 and 300 BC, it is believed, went to China and teach about enlightenment. It is mentioned in his book Bogar 7000. At the Panali temple he said to be in "Nirvigalpa Samadhi" below the garbagriha/sanctum sanctorum of Palani Murugan hill temple. A disciple of great sage Agastya, Bogar himself taught meditation, alchemy, yantric designs and Kriya yoga at the Kataragama Murugan shrine, Sri Lanka inscribing a yantric geometric design etched onto a metallic plate and installing it at the sanctum of the Kataragama complex. According to legends and the temple scriptures of Palani temple, Bogar created the Navapashana idol of Murugan and consecrated it atop the Palani hill. He also established a Murugan temple in Poombarai- Kuzhanthai Velappar temple Kodaikanal Tamilnadu, India. In the bygone days the milk that was poured on this idol during anointing was said to got mixed with some of the herbs thereby proving to be an effective cure for the diseases Bogar, the discoverer of an elixir of immortality was best known for his works on yoga and archery, and a glossary of medicine. He came to Palani after his long stay in the Meru hills in Kumari Kandam where he spent hid time meditating on God. (from en. wikipedia. org) ...................................

Of the 64 poisonous substance, Boggar chose nine poisonous herbs to make navapashanam. The nine available poisonous substances that were normally used to make the beads, malai and idols were Veeram, Pooram, Rasam, Jathilingam, Kandagam, Gauri pasanam, Vellai Pasanam, Mridharsingh and Silasat. The nine poisons represent nine planets and nine openings in our body. Bogar carefully processed using his knowledge of Tantric tradition, the herbs along with others and removed the poison as much as possible enough for humans to keep them alive. Now, it is a powerful alchemy, a smidgen of it is enough to cure any diseases. So, the moovalar idol in saintly posture with a thandam (pole) in his hand is made of hardened wax-like paste of various herbs - navapashanam. It is not a stone image. Nor is it a metal image. It was so tough, anointing (ritual washing of Hindu idols) for long period of time won't cause any wear and tear. The anointed water, milk, etc on the moolavar idol used to be safely collected to be given to the devotees as remedy for many ailments.

Agasthiyar Left, Bogar (right) shrine. members.tripod.com

Siddha elixirs or medicinal potionYou may call it a panacea!!

It is said the slim idol of Karthkaya stood unaffected by the effect of abhishekams/ anointing for centuries. On certain festival days like Karttikai, hundreds of abhishekams are done on the idol for the benefit of devotees who would use the anointed water or milk, etc. It it were not flint-hard, the herbal idol would have worn out centuries ago. Sage Bhogar, long ago, created a scientific wonder that may defy our imagination for, it has withstood the test of time beyond our comprehension. The abhishekam materials including the sandalwood paste at night would absorb the medicinal properties on the idol and they cure many ailments. Leucoderma and asthma. It is believed to be a remarkable Siddha elixirs or medicinal potion that will protect 9 important parts in our body. You may call it panacea!! In order to help the people free from some incurable ailments, Bogar made this medicinal potion. God Karthikaya himself advised Bogar to make the idol in a particular fashion and he revolved it to the sage in his dream. An interesting fact is the temple priests (Sivacharyas) of Palani Murugan temple were said to have been the descendants of Pulipani, one of Bogar's students, until the sixteenth century.

This medicinal potion believed to influence 01. Five koshas, 02. Navagrahas and 03. the Panchaboothas in human body. It nullifies the bad effect of some planetary positions on humans, it is said. That a single medicinal preparation offers remedy to so many diseases is a rare thing and this fact that can never be denied.

Entrance atop the hill (1500' tall), Palani temple. holidayiq.com

Sri Ganapathi Sthapathi, former principal of the Tamil Nadu College of Sculpture, told "Hinduism Today" that, "The icon is not made of any stone. It is made of a peculiar and shastric cement called katusarkara, made out of limestone with certain medical herbs. When prepared according to directions, the resulting form is like artificial stone." He explained that this was applied to a wooden frame. "I was able to see the wooden frame in the composition of the image. There is a vertical wood rod anchored into the floor through the pedestal for stability. Shifting the idol is fraught with danger, even a small vibration is likely to dislodgeit (Vide:........................http://palani.org/navabhasana.html
https://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.
http://palani.org/navabhasana.html
https://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2018/06/25-interesting-facts-of-yogi-bogars.html
http://palani.org/navabhasana.htm