Vayu is the Hindu god of wind and he is often associated with Indra. His other names are Pavana, the Purifier, Gandha-Vaha bringer of perfumes and Satata-Ga the Ever-moving one. He is a fierce god and drives his horses furiously. He is considered to be the god of rapid motion and therefore the father of the fleet-footed.

Vayu is believed to be the father of Hanuman who could move with the speed of wind and of Bhima, brother of Arjuna, who was called the Swift. The storm-gods, the Maruts, are his children, born from a daughter of Tvashtri, the divine carpenter. Many hymns have been written to him. One legend says that Narada the sage asked him to blow strongly enough to break off the top of Mount Mehru, the holy mountain. Vayu blew and blew, but in vain, for Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu, spread his wings over the summit to shelter it and even the most terrific storm failed to move it.Then Narada told him to watch Garuda, and if for a moment the great bird lifted his wings, he could try again to break the summit away. Such a moment came and Vayu blew the top of the mountain off and it landed in the ocean where it now rests as Lanka or Ceylon.

The Vayu Lingam shrine is found on the left side of the outer girivalam road about one kilometer after the village of Adi Annamalai. Though it now presents itself as an ordinary modern concrete structure, the remarkable feature of this shrine still remains from the olden days. At any time of the day when one enters the shrine one is always greeted by a gust of wind and this happens even on the stillest, warmest day!

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