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Arunachaleswarar Temple (Annamalaiyar Temple)

Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu

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Arunachaleswarar Temple (Annamalaiyar Temple)
Photo: Adarsh Pidugu, CC BY-SA 4.0

About

The Arunachaleswarar temple of Tiruvannamalai stands at the foot of the holy Arunachala hill. It is one of the Pancha Bhuta Sthalams, where Shiv ji is worshipped as one of the five elements, here as fire, and its lingam is called the Agni Lingam. Devotees see the Arunachala hill itself as a form of Shiv. Spread over about 25 acres, the temple has four great gopurams, the eastern Rajagopuram rising about 66 metres. Karthigai Deepam in the month of Kartik is its biggest festival. On every full moon, thousands of devotees walk barefoot around the hill, a circuit of about 14 km called girivalam.

The story

The Shiv Purana tells that Brahma ji and Vishnu ji once argued over which of them was greater. Shiv ji then appeared as an endless pillar of light and fire stretching through the three worlds. Vishnu ji became a boar and dug down to find its base, and Brahma ji became a swan and flew up to find its top. Vishnu ji came back and honestly said he had found no end. Brahma ji persuaded a falling ketaki (thazhampu) flower to bear false witness and claimed he had seen the top. Shiv ji was displeased by the lie and praised Vishnu ji for his truth. The pillar of fire then became the Arunachala hill, and Shiv ji settled at its foot as a lingam. Another story says Mata Parvati did tapasya here at the ashram of the sage Gautama, and on the Kartik full moon Shiv ji accepted her back. Karthigai Deepam remembers both these events. The present stone temple dates from Chola times in the 9th century and was later enlarged by Hoysala and Vijayanagara rulers. The Tevaram saints Appar and Sambandar sang of the Lord here, and in 1896 the young Ramana Maharshi did tapasya here in the underground vault of the Pathala Lingam.

Visiting

October to February is the best time. If you walk the girivalam, go early in the morning or in the evening and carry water. Karthigai Deepam and full-moon nights are very crowded. Sri Ramanasramam is nearby, and on the hill slopes are the caves where Ramana Maharshi meditated.

Festivals

  • Karthigai Deepam (Kartik Purnima, November to December): a ten-day festival ending with a huge lamp lit on the hilltop
  • Every full moon: girivalam, the walk around the hill
  • Chitra Pournami (Chaitra Purnima): procession of five temple cars
  • Thiruvoodal festival (Tamil month of Thai, January)

Famous temples

Sources