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Published: November 13th 2009
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Suneel Gudipati in Thiruvannamalia temple
Suneel Gudipati in Thiruvannamalia temple About Thiruvannamalai
Thiruvannamalai (sanskrit name for Thiruvannaamalai - Arunachala) is a pilgrimage town in Thiruvannamalai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Thiruvannamalai district. Thiruvannamalai is home to the Annamalaiyar temple located at the foot of the
Annamalai hill (also known as
Aruna Giri) and amongst one of the great lord Shiva temples of Tamilnadu. Thiruvannamalai has long been associated with many yogis and siddhars.
Thiruvannamalai is one of the
Pancha Boota Sthalangal. The Pancha Boota stalangal’s are…
*
Sri Kalahasti, Andrha Pradesh representing the
Air.
*
Thiruvanaikoil, Tamil Nadu representing the
Water.
*
Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu representing the
Fire.
*
Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu representing the
Sky.
*
Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu representing the
Earth respectively.
Four
Brahmotsavams are celebrated every year, the most famous of which is the one celebrated during the Tamil month of Karthikai (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.
Every full moon night, thousands of pilgrims worship Shiva by
Giri Pradhakshana (circumambulating the Arunachala hill) barefoot.
With friends
Suneel Gudipati with his friends. The circumambulation covers a distance of about 14 km. On the yearly Chitra Powrnami (full moon) night in the Tamil calendar year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from across the world visit the town.
Advaita Vedanta guru Ramana Maharshi lived in Thiruvannamalai for fifty three years until his death in 1950. His ashram, Ramanasramam, is located at the foot of the Arunachala hill, to the west of the town. Seshadri Swamigal and Yogi RamSurat Kumar are examples of two other gurus who lived in this city.
About Arunachala Temple
The temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was built between the 16th and the 17th centuries by the kings of the Vijayanagara empire. The temple is famous for its massive gopurams.
The 11 tiered
East Raja gopuram towers to a height of 217 feet, while the fortified walls pierced with 4 gopura entrances offer a formidable look to this vast temple complex. The
Pei gopuram, Tirumanjana gopuram and
Ammanaiammal gopuram are the other three. The 1000 pillared hall and the temple tank were built by
Sri Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagar king. Each of the prakarams has a huge Nandi (Bull) and several towers such as the
Thiruvannamali temple
Suneel Gudipati in Thiruvannamalia temple Vallala Maharaja Gopuram and Kili Gopuram.
Places near to Thiruvannamali
- Kanchi is located 20km, is one the ancient and religious town dedicated to lord Shiva.
How to reach
By Road:
Thiruvannamalai is well connected to many cities and towns in
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh by road. This town lies on the junction of the
Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh -
Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu state highway and the
Puduchery(Pondichery) - Bengaluru national highway (NH 66) . The TNSTC operates many bus services.
By Rail:
A railway line between
Vellore and
Villupuram passes through Thiruvannamalai, where passengers can board a passenger train to Vellore (up) or Villupuram (down). The nearest major railway station is at
Tindivanam, which is 63 km to Thiruvannamalai.
By Air:
The nearest airport is at Chennai 180 km and Bengaluru is at 210 km.
My experience
I plan to go with my neice Sai and my friend Ramarao from Bengaluru. We started at 9:30 am after taking breakfast. We got bus from Madiwala, Bengaluru to Hosur. Its Rs 15/- fare. We reach Hosur after 1 hour. We catch another Tamil Nadu state
bus to Thiruvannamali from Hosur. Its Rs 45/- After (approximately) 4 hours journey we reach Thiruvannamalai. On the way we take lunch at a hotel. Its nice food.
Some of Ramu’s friends came from Chennai. We meet them and we all take dharshina lord Arunachala. Because of full moon night, thousands of pilgrims worship Shiva, so our dharshina takes 2 hours.
Then we start Giri Pradhakshana (circumambulating the Arunachala hill) around 7: 00 pm. It covers a distance of about 14 km. On the way take visit lot of temples and Ramanasramam. Some of devotees offer prasadas. We complete around 12:30 am.
Then Ramu’s friends went to Chennai and we start to Bengaluru. We take an auto to reach bus stand for Rs 30/- (Bengalur & Chennai bus stands are situated in different locations). It is too far, it takes 15 minutes to reach bus stand. We got Bengaluru bus. The fare is Rs 90/- We return Madiwala by morning 6:00 am.
Thanks to Sai, who plans for this nice trip.
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phani
non-member comment
nice pic
hai sunil u r photos r very nice