Pada yatra, walking to the temple, sometimes for days, most famously to Palani before Thaipusam.
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Palkudam, a pot of milk carried on the head to the temple, for the abhishekam.
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Mudi kaanikkai, the offering of one's hair; heads are shaved at Palani, Tiruttani and many other temples.
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After tonsure, sandal paste is often applied to the head.
Some of the oldest ways of worshipping Murugan are done with the whole body.
Pada yatra means going on foot. In the weeks before Thaipusam the roads into Palani carry groups of pilgrims walking from towns many days away, often barefoot. Arrival matters, but the walk is the offering.
A palkudam is a pot of milk carried on the head, sometimes over a long distance, and poured for the deity's bathing. It is one of the most common vows and one of the simplest.
Mudi kaanikkai is the gift of one's hair. At Palani especially, heads are shaved as a vow, and devotees often say that for a while they become like the shaven renunciate on the hill.
None of these is a requirement. Each is a way of making a promise with the body rather than only with words.
The road is rarely walked alone. Before Thaipusam, groups from the same town or family walk together, and along the routes into Palani it is common for volunteers to set up stalls giving water and food to the walkers. The pilgrimage is carried by a whole community, not only by the person on foot.
Before you take this on
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Long walks on highways carry real traffic risk: walk in groups, in daylight where possible, and wear something reflective. Carry water and rest often. Anyone with a health condition should take medical advice before a long pada yatra.
WHAT THIS RESTS ON
Living practice
These are living practices. Connecting tonsure at Palani with the renunciate form of Dhandayuthapani is a devotional reading of the custom.
What people actually do, at temples and at home. Customs vary between families, regions and temples, and no single form is the correct one.