The Arunachaleswarar temple - Thiruvannamalai

On the evening of 15th November, 2014 my aunt phoned me. I thought she called me on a routine to know how my day was, but to my surprise she said "We are going to Thiruvannamalai ! ". I was so elated upon hearing her words. The very next day we started to our destination Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu.

Temples are always fascinating. They are such huge ancient, historic monuments that they  fill one's mind with curiosity. How did such astounding masterpieces were built at that ancient time, when there was no technology and machinery? Ofcourse, it's one of the reasons why they are so fascinating. And such historical monuments always create interest in it's visitors. The ancient temples always created enthusiasm in me. The stories behind their construction, the archaeological records about them, the style of their designs, the intense religious beliefs of people related to that area and the sacred rituals of that place, always created some sort of amusement.

Tiruvannamalai, locally called as Arunachalam (based on the deity Arunachaleswarar) is a wonderful place to visit. The temple is located on the base of the hill, Arunachala. The god of the temple  "Arunachaleswarar" is one of the pancha bhoota lingas. The pancha bhootas are the five manifestations of nature, which according to Hinduism, are the basis of all cosmic creation. The pancha bhootas are Air, Water, Earth, Fire and Space. Here, in Thiruvannamalai the deity of Shiva represents the element of Fire, Agni. Therefore, he is often called as Agni lingam. His consort Parvati is worshipped as "Unnamulai Amman". 

The temple covers an area of about 25 acres, which is one of the largest in India.There are four gopurams in the four directions, in which the eastern pillar, Rajagopuram is the tallest. The compound wall is huge which have small nandis (the sacred bull) facing outside the temple as if they are guarding in all four directions. There are many halls in the temple complex in which the thousand pillared hall is prominent. When we enter into the main temple, we can see a lot of idols and deities. There are various sculptures which are carved on the huge walls made of rock. After passing along them, we come across the main sanctum where the god, Arunachaleswarar resides. Aruna means Red. It is analogues to the Hotness of Fire. As the temple represents the element of Fire among the Pancha bhoota stalas, the Agni lingam which is present inside emits heat. When we enter into the sanctum, we can feel it. Its hot inside the sanctum. And the floor, the roof are all black something like, the way it looks when we burn something using fire. It completely justifies the name of Agni Linga., which was very interesting. In the temple, there was an essence of spirituality in the air. The cultural heritage of various dynasties can be seen all around.

The temple rituals start at 5:30 AM everyday with the morning puja. A cow along with the priests will first enter into the temple as a part of purification, which is a part of Hindu mythology. On the second day, we attended the morning puja. Even though it is the earliest hour of the day, there was a huge group of pilgrims, waiting to attend the morning puja. It will be really a delightful experience for anyone who is interested in the Traditional rituals of Hinduism. Pilgrims even circumnavigate the base of the Arunachala hill on foot as a symbol of their devotion. The month of Karthika is celebrated in a grand style. The karthika pournami (full moon day) marks the most prominent one.

A few miles away from the temple, there is Sri Ramana Ashram. He is an Advaita vedanta philosopher. The ashram consists of  his samadhi, which attracts a number of devotees from all over the world. The ashram also consists of some personal use objects of Maharshi.

It was a glorious experience to visit Tiruvannamalai. Its a place that everyone cherishes.