Arunachalesvara Temple

File:Annamaliyar Old picture.jpg

Annamalaiyar Old Picture Having Thiru Annamalaiyar Sannathi on top in Tamil Script

The Annamalaiyar Temple (Tamil: அண்ணாமலையார் திருக்கோவில்), also known as the Arunachalesvara Temple in Telugu and Sanskrit sources, is a historic temple dedicated to Sivan and Parvathi. Located at the base of Annamalai hill in the town of Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, India, it is one of the most sacred temples in the Tamil Saivite tradition. The temple is celebrated in the canonical works of Tamil literature such as Thevaram, Thiruvempavai, and Thiruppugazh, and is classified as a Paadal Pettra Thalam.

Sivan is worshipped as Annamalaiyar (meaning "Lord of Annamalai"), and is represented by the lingam known as the Agni Lingam, symbolizing the element of fire. Parvathi, revered as Unnamalai Amman, is represented by the yoni, with her idol referred to as the Agni Yoni.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

The temple's original and enduring name in Tamil tradition is Annamalaiyar Temple, as praised in classical Tamil Shaivite literature. The name Arunachalesvara is a later adaptation found in Telugu and Sanskrit sources.

Both deities were glorified in the 7th-century CE Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Thevaram, composed by saint-poets known as the Nayanars. The temple is classified as a Paadal Petra Thalam, one of the 276 sacred Saivite temples. In the 9th century CE, the saint-poet Manikkavacakar composed the Thiruvempavai at this temple, further elevating its spiritual prominence.

The temple complex covers 10 hectares, and is one of the largest in India.Template:Sfn It houses four gateway towers known as kopurams. The tallest is the 11-storey () eastern tower, making it one of the tallest temple towers in India built by Sevappa Nayakar (Madurai Nayakar dynasty)Template:Sfn The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Annamalai and Unnamalai being the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls; the most notable is the thousand-pillared hall built during the Vijayanagara dynasty.

The present masonry structure was built during the Chozha dynasty in the 9th century CE, while later expansions are attributed to Vijayanagara rulers of the Sangama Dynasty (1336–1485 CE), the Saluva Dynasty and the Tuluva Dynasty (1491–1570 CE). The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The temple has six daily rituals, performed between 5:30 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals. The Karththigai Theepam festival is celebrated during the day of the full moon between November and December, and a huge beacon is lit atop the hill. It can be seen from miles around, and symbolizes the Siva lingam of fire joining the sky.Template:Sfn The event is witnessed by three million pilgrims. On the day preceding each full moon, pilgrims circumnavigate the temple base and the annamalai hills in a worship called Girivalam, a practice carried out by one million pilgrims yearly.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Two Darshan entry options for Shiva worship :

• Free Darshan Entry: Queue time extends to 2–3+ hours (due to crowds).
• Paid Darshan Entry (₹50): Faster queue (1.5–2+ hours), includes a 500ml water bottle and 1–2 cups of buttermilk (subject to volunteer availability).

Paid entry is recommended during festivals to save time and stay refreshed.

Legend

see caption

The Annamalai hills with temple towers in the foreground

Once Parvathi, the consort of Lord Sivan, playfully closed his eyes in a flower garden at their palace atop Mount Kailasam. Although it lasted only a moment for the divine beings, it plunged the universe into complete darkness for many years. Distressed by the suffering of the world, Parvathi prayed for light to be restored and urged Shiva to bless their devotees with illumination.Template:Sfn

Moved by her devotion, Sivan appeared as a towering column of fire atop the Annamalai Hill (also known as Arunachala), returning light to the world.Template:Sfn Upon witnessing this divine manifestation, Parvathi united with Sivan, forming the sacred and androgynous deity Ardhanarishvara, representing the inseparable union of divine masculine and feminine.Template:Sfn

The Annamalai Hill, referred to in some sources as Arunachala or the “red mountain,” rises directly behind the Annamalaiyar Temple and is considered inseparable from it.Template:Sfn The hill itself is revered as a natural lingam—a living embodiment of Shiva—and is a central aspect of the temple’s spiritual significance.Template:Sfn

Another legend is that once, while Perumaal and Brahman contested for superiority, Sivan appeared as a flame, and challenged them to find his source.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Brahman took the form of a swan, and flew to the sky to see the top of the flame, while Perumaal became the boar Varaha, and sought its base.Template:Sfn The scene is called Lingodbhava, and is usually represented in the western wall at the sanctum sanctorum of most Sivan and Parvathi temples.Template:Sfn Neither Brahman nor Perumaal could find the source even though it had existed because they got tired, and while Perumaal revealed that he could not find the end, Brahman lied and said he had found the pinnacle in order to defeat Perumaal. In punishment, Sivan cut off Brahman's fifth head.Template:Sfn

History

Gateway tower with multiple storeys

The Raja gopuram – the Eastern gateway, the tallest temple tower and a view of the tank

The 7th century Nayanar saints Sampanthar and Appar wrote of the temple in their poetic work, Thevaram. Sekkizhar, the author of the Periyapuranam, wrote that both Appar and Sampanthar worshipped Annamalaiyar in the temple, which is also referred to as Arunachalesvara Temple in later sources.Template:Sfn

The Chozha Kings ruled over the region for more than four centuries, from 850 CE to 1280 CE, and were temple patrons. The inscriptions from Chozha rulers record various gifts—such as land, sheep, cows, and oil—to the temple, commemorating several victories of the dynasty.Template:Sfn

The Hoysala kings made Thiruvannamalai their capital beginning in 1328 CE.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn There are 48 inscriptions from the Sangama Dynasty (1336–1485 CE), 2 inscriptions from the Saluva Dynasty, and 55 inscriptions from the Tuluva Dynasty (1491–1570 CE) of the Vijayanagara Empire, reflecting gifts to the temple from their rulers.Template:Sfn

Inscriptions from the rule of Krishnadeva Raya (1509–1529 CE), the most powerful Vijayanagara king, also indicate patronage to the temple.Template:Sfn Most of the Vijayanagara inscriptions are written in Tamil, with some in Kannada and Sanskrit.Template:Sfn These inscriptions emphasize administrative matters and local concerns, which contrast with the imperial nature of the same kings’ inscriptions at temples like Thiruppathi.

The majority of gift-related inscriptions concern land endowments, followed by donations of goods, cash, cattle, and oil for lighting lamps.Template:Sfn The town of Thiruvannamalai was a strategic crossroads during the Vijayanagara Empire, connecting important pilgrimage centers and military routes.Template:Sfn There are inscriptions that show the area as an urban center even before the precolonial period, with the town developing around the Annamalaiyar Temple.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

During the 17th century CE, the temple along with the Thiruvannamalai town came under the dominion of the Nawab of the Carnatic. As the Mughal empire came to an end, the Nawab lost control of the town, with confusion and chaos ensuing after 1753.Template:Sfn Subsequently, there were periods of both Hindu and Muslim stewardship of the temple, with Muraru Raya, Krishna Raya, Mrithis Ali Khan, and Burkat Ullakhan besieging the temple in succession. As European incursions progressed, Thiruvannamalai was attacked by French Soupries, Sambrinet, and the English Captain Stephen Smith. While some were repelled, others were victorious. The French occupied the town in 1757, and the temple along with the town came under control of the British in 1760.Template:Sfn In 1790 CE, Thiruvannamalai town was captured by Tippu Sultan, who ruled from 1750–99 CE.Template:Sfn During the first half of the 19th century, the town along with the temple came under British rule.Template:Sfn From 1951, under the provision of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, the temple has been maintained by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board (HR & CE) of the Government of Tamil Nadu.Template:Sfn In 2002, the Archaeological Survey of India declared the temple a national heritage monument and took over its stewardship. Widespread protests and litigation with the Supreme Court of India, however, led the Archaeological Survey to cede the temple back to the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Architecture

Temple tower with people passing through.

View of the temple complex

Complex and towers

File:Thiruvannamalai Tower.jpg

Towers

The temple is situated at the bottom of the Annamalai hills, and faces east, lying over 25 acres. The walls on the east and west measure , the south , and the north . The present masonry and towers date back to the 9th century CE, as seen from an inscription in the structure made by Chozha kings who ruled at that time.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Further inscriptions indicate that before the 9th century, Thiruvannamalai was under the Pallava Kings, who ruled from Kanchipuram.Template:Sfn It has four gateway towers, the kopuram, on its four sides. The eastern tower, the Rajakopuram, is the tallest in the temple. The base of the Rajakopuram is made of granite, measuring by .Template:Sfn It was begun by king Krishnadevaraya (1509–29 CE) of the Vijayanagara dynasty, and completed by Sevappa Nayaka (1532–80 CE).Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The inscriptions indicate that the tower was built at the behest of Sivanesa and his brother Lokanatha in 1572 CE.Template:Sfn The south tower is called Thirumanchangopuram, and the west tower is called Pe Gopuram. Ammani Amman gourami in the north. Raghunathabhyudayam and Sangitha Sudha, both Nayak scriptures, also describe the towers.Template:Sfn The Tanjavuri Andhra Raja Charitamu mentions that Krishnadevaraya built the tower and the outer precincts of the temple.Template:Sfn The temple has a total of five precincts,Template:Sfn each of which holds a huge Nandhi, the sacred bull of Sivan. Towers include the Vallala Maharaja Gopuram and Kili Gopuram, or Parrot Tower.

Shrines

File:Arunachalesvara Temple shrine.jpg

Shrine inside the Annamalaiyar Temple

The main shrine of Annamalaiyar (also referred to as Arunachalesvara in later sources) faces east and houses the images of Nandhi and Sooriyan. It is considered the oldest structure within the temple complex.Template:Sfn

Behind the sanctum walls, there is an image of Venugopalaswamy (a form of Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu). Surrounding the sanctum are images of various deities, including Somakanthar, Durga, Chandikesuvarar, Gajalatchumi, Arumugachami, andDakshinamoorthy, Swarnabairavar, Nataraja, and Lingodbhavar—the last an image of Shiva emanating from lingam. The Palliyarai, the divine room for resting deities, is located at the first precinct around the sanctum. The shrine of his consort, Annamalai Amman, lies in the second precinct, with Amman depicted in a standing posture. Sambantha Pillaiyar, the elephant god shrine, is located to the north of the flagstaff and the Bali peeta, or platform for sacrifice.Template:Sfn To the south of the thousand-pillared hall, there is a small shrine for Subramaya and a large tank.Template:Sfn Pathala Lingam, the underground lingam, is the place where Ramana Maharshi (1879 – 1950 CE) is believed to have performed his penance.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The shrine of Sivagangai Pillaiyar is present in the northern bank of the Sivangangai tank.Template:Sfn

Halls

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The View of Thousand Pillar Mahal at temple premises

There is a sixteen pillared Theepa Kaatchi Arangam, or hall of light, in the third precinct. The temple tree, Magizha, is considered sacred and medicinal, and childless couples tie small cradles to its branches in obeisance. Vedas write that the mast of the temple separated the earth and the sky during creation of the universe.Template:Sfn The Thirumana Mandapam, the marriage hall, is in the south-west of the precinct, and is built in Vijayanagara style. A stone trident is present in the outer shrine of the temple in open air, and has protective railings like a sacred tree.Template:Sfn The Ilavenil Mandapam, meaning the Hall of spring, is the third precinct, and contains the temple office and Kalahateeswarar shrine.Template:Sfn The fourth precinct has an image of Nandhi, Brahma Nanneer, the temple tank, the Yanai Thirai Konda Pillaiyar shrine, and a hall with a six-foot-tall statue of Nandhi, erected by Vallala Maharaja.Template:Sfn

Inside the doorway of the first tower and the fifth precinct, there is a thousand-pillared hall built during the late Vijayanagara period.Template:Sfn Krishnadevaraya constructed the hall and dug the tank opposite to it.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The pillars in the hall are carved with images of yali, a mythological beast with body of lion and head of an elephant, a symbol of Nayak power.Template:Sfn The Arunagirinathar Mandapam is located to the right of the Kalayana Linga Sundara Eswara Mandapam, and the Gopurathilayanar shrine is to the left of a broad flight of stone stairs that lead up to the Vallala Gopuram.Template:Sfn

Worship and festivals

The temple priests perform the poosai (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. Like other Sivan temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the Saivaite community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed by pandit six times a day; Kaalaippani at 5:30 a.m., Kaalai Vazhipaadu at 8:00 a.m., Nadunchama Vazhipaadu at 10:00 a.m., Maalaipani at 6:00 p.m., Irandaam Kaalai Pani at 8:00 p.m. and Iravuppani at 10:00 p.m.Template:Sfn Each ritual comprises four steps: Thirumanchanam (sacred bath), Alangaaram (decoration), Neivedhiyam (food offering) and Theepaarathanai (waving of lamps) for both Annamalaiyar and Unnamulai Amman. The worship is held amidst music with nagaswaram (pipe instrument) and tavil (percussion instrument), religious instructions in the Vedas read by priests and prostration by worshippers in front of the temple mast. There are weekly rituals like Thingal-kizhamai (Monday) and Velli-kizhamai (Friday), fortnightly rituals like Pirathosam and monthly festivals like Amavasai (new moon day), Kiruthigai, Paurnami (full moon day) and Chathurthi.Template:Sfn

The temple celebrates dozens of festivals throughout the year.Template:Sfn Four prime festivals, the Thiruvizha, are celebrated yearly. The most important of these lasts ten days during the Tamil month of Karthikai, between November and December, concluding with the celebration of Karthikai Deepam. A huge lamp is lit in a cauldron, containing three tons of Nei (Ghee), at the top of the Annamalai hills during the Theepam.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn To mark the occasion, the festival image of Annamalaiyar is taken around the wooden chariot around the mountain. Inscriptions indicate that the festival was celebrated as early as the Chozha period (from 850 CE to 1280 CE) and was expanded to ten days in the twentieth century.Template:Sfn

File:Tiruvannamalai Temple Procession.jpg

Temple deities in a procession.

Every full moon, tens of thousands of pilgrims worship Annamalaiyar by circumambulating the Annamalai Hill barefoot.Template:Sfn The circumambulation covers a distance of , and is referred as Girivalam.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn According to Hindu legend, the walk removes sins, fulfils desires and helps achieve freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth.Template:Sfn Offerings are made in a string of tanks, shrines, pillared meditation halls, springs and caves around the hill.Template:Sfn The circumambulation continues during the rest of the month. On the day of yearly Chithra Pournami, the full moon of the Tamil calendar, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come from across the world to worship Annamalaiyar. Five temple cars, called thaer, with wooden carvings, are used for the procession.Template:Sfn

Thiruvoodal is another festival celebrated during the first week of the Tamil month Thai in mid-January every year. On the morning of Maatu Pongal, between 15 and 16 January, Nandhi is decorated with garlands made of fruits, vegetables and sweets. The festival deities of Annamalaiyar and Unnamulai Amman are taken out of the temple to Thiruvoodal Street to enact the oodal (or love tiff) between the two in the evening.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Religious significance

The Annamalaiyar Temple is one of the Pancha Bhootha Thalams, or five major Sivan temples, each representing a manifestation of a natural element: earth, water, air, sky, and fire.Template:Sfn In this temple, Sivan is said to have appeared as a massive column of fire—Akkini Jothi—whose crown and feet could not be found even by the Hindu gods Brahman and Perumaal. The main lingam in the shrine is referred to as the Agni Lingam, symbolising the element of fire and representing themes of duty, tapas (penance), self-sacrifice, and ultimate spiritual liberation at the end of the Agni Kalpam.Template:Sfn

Aathara Thalams are Shiva temples considered to correspond to the Tantric chakkarams of the human body. The Annamalaiyar Temple is identified as the Manipooraga Thalam,Template:Sfn and corresponds to the Manipooraga chakkram, associated with the solar plexus (naabhi moolam).Template:Sfn

Saints and literary mention

Sampanthar, a 7th-century CE Tamil Shaivite poet, venerated Annamalaiyar and Unnamulai Amman in ten verses in Thevaram, compiled as the First Thirumurai.Template:Sfn Appar, a contemporary of Sampanthar, also praised Annamalaiyar in ten verses in the Thevaram, compiled as the Fifth Thirumurai.Template:Sfn As the temple is revered in the Thevaram, it is classified as a Paadal Pettra Thalam, one of the 276 temples mentioned in the Tamil Saiva canon.Template:Sfn

Manikkavacakar, a 9th-century CE Tamil saint and poet, revered Annamalaiyar and Unnamulai Amman in his writings, describing the two deities as "Annamalai" and "Unnamulai".Template:Sfn He composed the Thiruvempavai in the Tamil month of Margazhi at the temple.Template:Sfn

Arunagirinathar was a 15th-century CE Tamil poet born in Thiruvannamalai. He spent his early years as a rioter and seducer of women. After ruining his health, he attempted suicide by throwing himself from the northern tower, but was saved by the god Murugan.Template:Sfn He became a staunch devotee and composed Tamil hymns glorifying Kartikeya, the most notable being Thiruppugazh.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

The western world learnt of Thiruvannamalai during the mid 20th century CE, through the work of Ramana Maharishi (1879 CE–1950 CE).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The cave where Ramana meditated is on the lower slopes of the Annamalai hills, with the Thiru Ramanar Aasiramam further down at the foothills.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The basement of the raised hall inside the temple has the Pathala Lingam shrine underground in the temple, where Ramana attained supreme awareness while ants tried to eat his muscles and failed in it and went away from him.Template:Sfn The place is also called a Mukthi Thalam, meaning a place of salvation, and saints like Seshadri Svamigal, Gugai Namashivayar, Yogi Ramsuratkumar have attained salvation within the temple.Template:Sfn

References

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External links

• Temple Official website
• Arunachaleshwar Temple Complte info