The legend of Murugan is described in the Skanda Puranam, the Tamil iteration of the Skanda Purana. According to the text, the asura Surapadman drove the devas out of Svarga, and the latter sought the assistance of the deities Vishnu and Brahma. They assigned Kamadeva to disturb Shiva from his penance and fall in love with Parvati, and the couple later gave birth to Murugan. Murugan is anointed as the commander of the devas, and went on to slay Surapadman in battle, restoring Svarga to the devas. Murugan married the goddesses Valli and Devasena after the war, an event that is regarded to have occurred at Tiruchendur.^[1]

In Tamil literature, five types of land are explained. These are the Kurinji (mountainous region), Mullai (forest region), Marutham (agricultural region), Neithal (coastal region) and Palai (desert region). Various deities are designated as the patron gods of these regions in Sangam literature. According to these texts, Murugan is the deity of the Kurinji region.^[2]

Arunagirinathar was a 15th-century Tamil poet born in Tiruvannamalai. According to regional tradition, he spent his early years as a rioter and seducer of women. After ruining his health, he tried to commit suicide by throwing himself from the northern tower of Annamalaiyar Temple, but was saved by the grace of god Murugan.^[3] He became a staunch devotee and composed Tamil hymns glorifying Murugan, the most notable being Tiruppugaḻ.^[4][5] Arunagirinathar visited various Murugan temples and on his way back to Tiruvannamalai, visited Palani and sung praises about Swaminathaswamy.^[6] Tiruparamkundram is considered the first of the six abodes. This is the only temple where the abhishekam is performed for the divine spear called vel instead of Murugan.^[7] Palani is considered the most prominent abodes of Murugan.^[8]

One of the main traditions of the six temples, is the tonsuring of devotees, who vow to discard their hair in imitation of the Palani deity. Another is the anointing of the head of the presiding deity's idol with sandalwood paste, at night, prior to the temple being closed for the day. The paste, upon being allowed to stay overnight, is said to acquire medicinal properties, and is much sought after and distributed to devotees, as rakkāla chandaṇam.^[9] A commonly followed worship practice involves devotees wearing ochre clothes and carrying a kavadi, an ornamental mount decked with flowers, glazed paper, and tinsel work, on foot for long distances.^[10]