Arunachalam Temple:
Contents
Arunachalam temple/Tiruvannamalai temple is in Tiruvannamalai of Tamilnadu. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Amongst five panchabhoota stalam, one is Arunachalam temple, Agni is the panchabhoota present here. Arunachalam temple timings are from 5 am to 9:30 pm.
Karthigai deepam is a significant celebration here. The entire temple is decorated with lightings on that day.
Karthigai Deepam:
Karthigai Deepam or Karthikai Vilakkidu is a festival of lights observed by Hindus of Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, and Kerala. It falls in the month of Kārttikai as per the Tamil calendar.
Legend of the Arunachalam Temple :
According to the legend, once the goddess Parvati was in a playful mood and closed Lord Shiva’s eyes as soon as she closed eyes, the entire universe fell into darkness. Goddess Parvati asks for his forgiveness and expiates.
As per the orders of Lord Shiva, she goes to Kanchipuram and works on her amendment. From there, she goes to the Iruvannamalai hills nearby Tiruvannamalai. Over there, she kills the demon Mahishasura and organizes a grand festival on Karthigai.
Lord Shiva, impressed with her act, appears as a cosmic flame on the hill. Shiva wants to prove his supremacy, so he seems like a substantial blazing cosmic pillar. He also challenges Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma to find out the start and end of the fire.
Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma:
The Lord Vishnu takes the boar avatar and digs deep into the earth to find the origin of the flames and fails. Lord Brahma takes the avatar of the swan and tries to reach the top. He meets mobile and a cow on his way and asks them to support him in his lies. He then lies to Lord Shiva that he has reached the top.
Shiva, displeased with this act of Brahma, curses him that there will be no idols for him. Lord Shiva also curses Mogili that it is unfit to be used in prayers, and seeing a cow in the early morning should be considered wrong. Upon the request of Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma takes the forms of Arunachala hill to benefit humankind.
History of Arunachalam Temple:
Sri Krishna Devaraya, the King of the Vijayanagara dynasty, built a 41 meters tall and 30 meters wide temple tower from 1509 A.D – 1529 A.D. The Eastern gateway gopuram, Vallala gopuram, named after King Ballala of Hoysala. King Ballala made Thiruvannamalai his capital city.
The temple consists of 5 prakarams, built at different periods. The: first and second prakarams are not available—the third prakaram, built in the 12th century and the fourth and fifth in the 16th century.
Hoysala and Vijayanagara culture resembles the temple’s architecture, paintings, and carvings. The kings of Nayak also contributed to the temple’s renovation contributed by the Kings of Nayak.
Arunachalam Temple Timings:
Here is the Arunachalam Temple Timings
Morning Hours: 5 am – 12 pm
Evening hours: 5ppm – 9:30 pm
How to reach Arunachalam Temple:
- You can go from Chennai and Villupuram to Tiruvannamalai temple. Villupuram is just 61 km away from Thiruvannamalai.
- Daily trains will be available. Special trains are also available from Chennai to Tiruvannamalai and connected to Tamilnadu.
- You can also go by your vehicle, it is 207 km away from Chennai, it takes 3 hours and 45 mins to reach Tiruvannamalai, and by minibus, it takes 4 hours 30 mins.
Is Arunachalam temple is opened for Darshan and giripradakshina in this month.