The hill is the god. The temple at its foot is where people come to bow to it.
- Deity
- Shiva as Arunachaleswarar
- Where
- Tiruvannamalai திருவண்ணாமலை
- Known as
- One of the Pancha Bhoota Sthalams: the element of fire
- Oldest record
- 9th century
௧ The legend
The column of fire without end
Brahma and Vishnu once quarrelled over which of them was greater. Between them rose a column of fire with no beginning and no end, and a voice said: whoever finds its limit is the greater.
Vishnu became a boar and dug down for an age, and found no base. Brahma became a swan and flew up for an age, and found no top. Vishnu returned and said so. Brahma returned and claimed he had seen the summit, with a falling flower as his witness.
The fire was Shiva. He cursed the lie and blessed the truth, and at the prayer of the gods he cooled into a hill so the world could bear him. That hill is Arunachala. Once a year, on Karthigai Deepam, a great flame is lit on its summit to remember what it was.
As the story is told at the temple. Legends vary in the telling.
௨ Across the centuries
Built by many hands, tier upon tier
9th century
Chola kings
The early shrines are built in stone at the foot of the hill.
14th century
Hoysala king Ballala III
Tiruvannamalai becomes a royal seat and the temple grows.
16th century
Vijayanagara and the Nayaks
The eleven-tiered east Rajagopuram, about sixty-six metres, is begun and completed.
1896–1950
Sri Ramana Maharshi
The sage lives on the hill and draws seekers from all over the world.
௩ What to look for
When you stand inside
Four great gopurams
Some of the tallest temple towers in India, one on each side of a twenty-five-acre compound.
Girivalam
The fourteen-kilometre barefoot walk around the hill, made by thousands on every full moon.
The Thousand-Pillared Hall
A vast mandapam within the walls, and beneath it a cellar shrine where a young Ramana once sat.
௪ The temple’s year
The festivals that fill it
- சித்திரைChithiraiApr–May
- வைகாசிVaikasiMay–Jun
- ஆனிAaniJun–Jul
- ஆடிAadiJul–Aug
- ஆவணிAavaniAug–Sep
- புரட்டாசிPurattasiSep–Oct
- ஐப்பசிAippasiOct–Nov
- கார்த்திகைKarthigaiNov–Dec
- மார்கழிMargazhiDec–Jan
- தைThaiJan–Feb
- மாசிMaasiFeb–Mar
- பங்குனிPanguniMar–Apr
Karthigai Nov–Dec
Karthigai Deepam
A great flame on the summit of Arunachala, seen for miles around, burning for days.
Chithirai Apr–May
Full-moon Girivalam
Every month, but most crowded under the Chithirai full moon.
Festival dates follow the temple’s own calendar and change each year. We confirm them before you travel.
௫ Going there
Journeys that bring you here
- Most Tamil Nadu temples close around midday and reopen in the late afternoon. Each day keeps temples for the morning and evening and puts the road in between.
- Dress traditionally and modestly. Footwear is left outside every temple.
- Darshan arrangements differ from temple to temple and can change on festival days. We confirm what is possible at each one before you travel.
To stand here yourself, with the car, the stay, the guide and the darshan arranged, ask us to plan your journey. We call you back and listen first.
Draft Legends and history are retold from widely published sources and await review. Timings, dress code and special-entry arrangements are published once each fact has a source and a review date.