Thiruvannamalai Temple
It is one
of the important pilgrimage center of Tamil Nadu.Though Hindus seek god
in the form of idol, it is also their strong belief that god can be
worship in the form of light or Flame. The Karthigai Deepam festival
when the big flame is lit atop the Thiruvannamalai hills draw a huge
crowd and devotees. The Sculptures in the pillars and the idol lingam
are very huge and enticing that tey make one wonder at the renowned. A
large number of foreign as well as domestic tourists and aspirant for
spiritual solace and solitude congregate here. Thiruvannamalai has
become an international center of study in spiritualism.The temple town
of Tiruvannamalai, 85kms south of Vellore, is an important Shaivite
town.Of the 100 or more temples, the most outstanding is the Siva -
Parvathi Temple of Arunachaleswar, which is said to be the largest in
India. The main gopuram is 66m and 13 storeys high, and there is a
1000-pillared hall.
Historical details about Tiruvannamalai and the
Aruncahalewsara temple are available to us through stone inscriptions on
the prakara walls and copper plates. These inscriptions refer to a
period of about thousand years starting from 750 A.D. The earliest
archaeological findings from these stone inscriptions point to the fact
that the greatness of Arunachala was known to the kings from the
spiritual works Thevaram and Thiruvasagam. We come to know that
Tiruvannamalai was historically and spiritually famous even from those
ancient times. We have clues that the temple was small during the visit
of Appar, Manikavasagar, Sambandar and others. Kings who read about the
great glory of Aruncahaleswara from the Thevaram and Thiruvasagam began
to expand the temple and beautify it. They had great faith in and
devotion for Arunachaleswara.
