Friday, April 6, 2012

Thiruvannamalai Temple Visit & Girivalam

Thiruvannamalai is a world famous pilgrimage town in Tamilnadu. It is situated 185 Kms for Chennai and 175 Kms from Bangalore.

It has the famous Annamalaiyar Temple on the foot of the Annamalai Hill(approx. 2669ft high) and is one among the biggest Shiva temple in India. It is said to be one of the Pancha Bootha Sthalam(Five Basic Elements). Here, Lord shiva is worshipped in the form of fire. Histories say that this temple was constructed by Chola kings during 9th Century and it has a 66mt high Gopuram(Tower) which has 13 tiers. The main God of this temple is "Lord Arunachaleswarar / Annamalaiyar" and Goddess Parvathi known as "Abithakuchalambal."

Many siddhars and rishis lived in Thiruvannamalai which makes this place even more famous and attracts foreign tourists here in search of yoga and spiritual things.There are many ashrams around this temple.Few famous ashrams are "Ramana Maharishi Ashram", "Yoginath Surathkumar Ashram" and "Sheshadri Maharishi Ashram".

Every Fullmoon Night, you can see thousands of devotees gathering in Thiruvannamalai for "Girivalam". The word Girivalam is derived from two tamil words Giri - mountain and Valam - coming around. To come one full round the road round the hill, it is around 14 kilometres. People use to chant "Om Namashivaya" when they go around. You are supposed to concentrate on top of the hill while doing girivalam also in a place you can find "Nandhimugha Dharshan"-when you see the hill you can find the face of Nandhi. It is said to bring in abundant peace or calmness for the mental well being and also refreshing for the physical fitness. On the yearly "Chitra Pournami" thousands of pilgrims around the world visit here.


While going around Girivalam, you can find eight lingams known as "Ashtalingam". They are positioned at different locations and facing various directions. Each lingam signifying different directions of the earth. These lingams are named as Indralingam, Agnilingam, Yamalingam, Niruthilingam, Varunalingam, Vayulingam, Kuberalingam and Esanyalingam.

Eventhough many festivals are celebrated, "Karthigai Deepam" is the famous Festival happening every year during the Tamil Month "Kaarthigai" and according to english calendar it comes in November / December. The ten day event culminates on the day of Karthigai Deepam. On that evening, a huge lamp is lit in a cauldron with three tons of ghee at the top of the Annamalai hill.

Thiruvannamalai is connected with plenty of train and bus facilities. During Fullmoon of everymonth and Kaarthigai Deepam special buses are connected to Thiruvannamalai from various places of Tamil Naadu also from Bangalore.And Dining and Lodging is not a problem here. Plenty of lodges and hotels are here. Even while going around Girivalam you can find small small petty shops openened everywhere with eatables, also Annadhanam will be given to all pilgrims. Even foreign tourists can find few multi-cuisine restaurants.

When you visit Thiruvannamalai, you can also go to Saathanoor Dam across Thenpennai River. Gingee Fort is another popular tourist destination located on the Tindivanam-Thiruvannaamalai road, 40 km from Thiruvannamalai.