- Timings
- 5 am–12.30 pm, 3.30 pm–9.30 pm
- Element
- Fire (Agni)
- Temple area
- About 25 acres
- Distance from Chennai
- About 200 km
- Nearest airport
- Chennai
- Main festival
- Karthigai Deepam (Nov–Dec)
The legend
The best-known story tells of Brahma and Vishnu arguing over who was greater. Shiva appeared between them as an endless column of fire; Vishnu dug down as a boar and Brahma flew up as a swan, and neither found an end. Another tale says Parvati playfully covered Shiva's eyes, plunging the world into darkness, and he restored light as a flame on the summit of the hill.
History and architecture
Arunachala is already praised in the 7th-century Thevaram hymns, and the temple in stone dates from Chola times, with later additions by the Vijayanagara rulers and the Nayaks. Four gopurams guard the walls, the eastern Rajagopuram being one of the tallest in the country. Five concentric enclosures surround the sanctum of Annamalaiyar, worshipped as the Agni lingam, and his consort Unnamulai Amman has her own shrine. The thousand-pillared hall is known for its carved yalis.
Festivals and Girivalam
Karthigai Deepam, in the Tamil month of Karthigai (November–December), ends a ten-day festival with a huge ghee lamp lit on top of the hill, watched by vast crowds. On every full-moon night pilgrims walk Girivalam, the roughly 14 km path around the hill, barefoot and chanting. Maha Shivaratri, Aadi Pooram and the spring festival are also celebrated.
Timings and dress code
The temple usually opens at 5 am and shuts at 12.30 pm, reopening at 3.30 pm until 9.30 pm. Wear modest clothes that cover the shoulders and knees: a dhoti or trousers for men, and a saree, salwar kameez or churidar with dupatta for women.
How to reach
Tiruvannamalai is about 200 km from Chennai, roughly four hours by road, and Chennai is the nearest major airport. The town has a railway station close to the temple, and frequent buses run from Chennai, Villupuram, Vellore, Bengaluru and Puducherry. We can arrange a car from Virudhachalam or Chennai for a darshan and Girivalam trip.
Also nearby
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