Annamalayar temple, Thiruvannamalai

I recently had the good fortune of visiting the Arunachaleshwarar temple at Thiruvannamalai on a Shivarathri day. We (a group of ten plus people) drove down from Bangalore in a minivan. We leave at six in the morning. The trip isn’t exactly pleasant, with the bumpy roads dampening the fun. The last lap is the worst. The roads seem to be made of plain mud and stones. We stop a few times. Those who suffer from motion sickness are advised to take precautionary medication to avoid vomiting.

So anyway, a shaky ride later, we reach the temple town of Thiruvannamalai around one-thirty or two. After breaking for a quick lunch, we head for darshan.

The presiding deity of Thiruvannamalai, Lord Shiva in the form of Arunachaleshwarar, is one of the pancha bhoota sthalam. There are five Shiva temples in South India, where the Lord is worshipped as representations of the five elements of fire, earth, water, air, and the sky. Collectively called the Pancha Bhoota Sthala, these lingas are located as follows: Agni Lingam in Thiruvannamalai, Prithvi Lingam in Kancheepuram (the Ekambareshwarar temple), Jambu Lingam (water) in Thiruvanakaval near Trichy, Vayu Lingam in Kalahasthi, (Sri Kalahastheeshwara temple) and Akasha Lingam in Chidambaram (Natarajar).

Thiruvannamalai is apparently the only holy place where the entire hill is considered sacred, and is worshipped. It is also the place where Ramana Maharshi spent majority of his life in prayer and meditation. The Ramana Ashram is located close to the temple. You can read the legend of the Arunachaleshwarar temple here. 

Image courtesy - Thriyambak J Kannan via Wikimedia Commons

We enter the vast temple compound. It is all decked up for the Shivarathri celebrations due for the evening. Huge, colourful kolams decorate the floors of the compound. Crowds throng the place for a glimpse of the Lord. We enter the main temple where the lingam is consecrated. Thick, long queues greet us as we step in. Luckily for us, we are to avail the unfair benefit of a special darshan. We are here to perform at the temple on account of Shivaratri. Plus, one of the members of our party is an old timer at Thiruvannamalai. A senior priest of the temple (who is known to our friend), comes to escort us inside. After a brief wait, he comes, and we slip inside through the ropes that have been set up to regulate the crowds and enter the sanctum sanctorum.

Image courtesy - Aaraaja via Wikimedia Commons

Agni lingam it is indeed! The inside of the sanctum is sweltering. We have been warned that it will be hot, but we are unprepared for the waves of heat that hit us. The lingam is tall and broad. The Lord is seated in all his glory, with no adornments. It is only the black lingam, with three thick white stripes to mark the vibhuti on his forehead. We place our offerings in the thamboolam (plate) extended to us. The head priest conducts the archanai, and offers us aarati and theertham. 

We step out, mopping our faces with hankies and tissues, and head to visit the other deities in the temple. We pay our respects to Ganesha, Murugan, Chandikeshwarar, and Unnamalai Amman, the consort of the Lord, Parvathi Devi. The temple has five prakarams or precincts. Each has an idol of Nandi facing the direction of the Lord. Gopurams dot four sides of the outer most prakaram. The fifth or the outermost prakaram is said to house the thousand pillared hall. We unfortunately had to give it a miss due to our limited schedule. We also had to skip the pathala lingam (located a few feet underground, as its name suggests), where Ramana Maharshi was said to have meditated. It is said that Ramana was so deep into his meditation that he did not feel ants and other insects attacking his body. He was finally rescued by Seshadri Swamigal.

The beautiful structures of the temple tempt us into taking pictures. Having had a good darshan, we slowly make our way back to the hotel to begin the elaborate ritual of getting dressed for our performance. I hope you enjoyed this narrative. I will be back next Friday with an account on a different devalayam. Till then, stay safe, and stay devout!