Arunachala
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Arunachala | |
---|---|
Annamalai | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 814 m (2,671 ft) |
Coordinates | 12°14′28″N 79°03′26″E / 12.24111°N 79.05722°E |
Geography | |
Location | Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu, India |
Parent range | Eastern Ghats |
Arunachala (
Every year in the
It is also an important place for devotees of Ramana Maharshi, with Sri Ramana Ashram situated at its foothills.
References in religious texts
According to the legend, associated with the Temple, a dispute occurred between Brahma the creator, and Vishnu the preserver, over which of them was superior. In order to settle the argument, Lord Shiva is said to have manifested as a column of light, and then the form of Arunachala.[3] But Brahma and Vishnu forgot their highest sacred duties and competed with each other. To solve this, Lord Shiva got up to test the heavens and the earth, saying that the one who sees his head and feet is the greatest among you. Brahma and Vishnu, no matter how hard they tried, failed miserably. Following this, the Devas, who could not bear the heat, prayed to Lord Shiva for peace. Lord Shiva, in response to their request, bowed down to a mountain and a small torch appeared on top of it, and everyone worshiped. The place is also known as Thiruvannamalai, also known as Arunachalam, the site of the fire. The Karthika lamp is mounted on this hill every year during the month of Karthika. Tens of thousands of people flock to Thiruvannamalai on that day.
Creation is an action of Brahma;
Maintenance is done by Vishnu;
Destruction (Renewal) is attributed to Shiva
The Maheswara Khanda of Skanda Purana, sage Veda Vyasa describes in great detail the wonder of Arunachala.[4]
Over the centuries, many saints and sages have been drawn to Arunachala. The
Arunachala Mahatmyam says,
- "By seeing Tiruvarur, by dying in Kasi, or by merely thinking of Arunachala, one will surely attain Liberation."
Another verse in the Arunachala Mahatmyam, translated from Sanskrit into Tamil by Sri Ramana Maharshi says:
- "Arunachala is truly the holy place. Of all holy places it is the most sacred! Know that it is the heart of the world. It is truly Siva himself! It is his heart-abode, a secret kshetra. In that place the Lord ever abides the hill of light named Arunachala."[7]
Asked about the special sanctity of Arunachala,
- "All stones in that place Arunachala are lingams. It is indeed the abode of Lord Siva. All trees are the wish-granting trees of Indra's heaven. Its rippling waters are the Ganges, flowing through our Lord's matted locks. The food eaten there is the ambrosia of the Gods. To go round it in pradakshina is to perform pradakshina of the world. Words spoken there are holy scripture, and to fall asleep there is to be absorbed in samadhi, beyond the mind's delusion. Could there be any other place which is its equal?"
Girivalam
The circumambulation of Arunachala is known as Giri Pradakshina in Sanskrit and Girivalam or Malai Suttru in Tamil. Performing pradakshina of Arunachala is considered to be beneficial in all ways.
Throughout the year, pilgrims engage in a practise called giri valam (circumambulation of Annamalaiyar temple and Annamalai hill 14 km in circumference), considered to be a simple and effective form of yoga. The circumambulation is started from the temple with bare feet and is considered a sacred act.[14] The central government of India asked the Tamil Nadu government through the supreme court to direct the path of girivalam under the provision of the proposed Tamil Nadu Heritage Conservation Act.[15] There are eight small shrines of lingams located in the 14 km circumference of the hill, each associated with the 12 moon signs. These are collectively termed as Ashta Lingam (meaning 8 lingams) and is considered one of the rituals of worship during the girivalam (circumbulation of the hill).[16]
Karthigai Deepam
Every year, on the tenth day of the celebration of
- "Getting rid of the 'I am the body' idea and merging the mind into the Heart to realize the Self as non-dual being and the light of all is the real significance of darshan of the beacon of light on Annamalai, the centre of the universe."[17]
Temple
The temple is famous for its massive
Reforestation
Arunachala is in the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests ecoregion. The forests that once covered the mountain have been reduced by fires, illegal logging, and the footfalls of thousands of pilgrims. Reforestation of Arunachala began in the 1990s by a civil society initiative called Annamalai Reforestation Society. In 2004 the Tiruvannamalai Greening Society was founded by district forest officer Pasupathy Raj and other local officials. The society registered as a non-profit trust in 2008 called The Forest Way.
The Forest Way employs full-time and part-time staff and engages volunteers to grow seedlings of native trees and plant them on the mountain. The charity operates a plant nursery, and plants 15,000-18,000 seedlings each year. The charity helped build a children's park and forest park on the site of a former dump, removes litter from the mountain, and watches for fires and creates fire breaks during the dry season.[19][20]
Arunachala in popular culture
"Arunachala" is the first track of the Pervogenesis album by The Kristet Utseende.
See also
Notes
- ^ Lonely Planet South India 2009 Page 418 ed Sarina Singh, Amy Karafin, Anirban Mahapatra "Welcome to Tiruvannamalai. About 85 km south of Vellore and flanked by boulder-strewn Mt Arunachala, this is one of the five 'elemental' cities of Shiva; here the god is worshipped in his fire incarnation as Arunachaleswar (see boxed text, ..."
- ^ "Thiruvannamalai Annamalaiyar Kovil". Tamilnadu.com. 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013.
- ^ A. R. Natarajan, Arunachala From Rigveda to Ramana Maharshi
- ^ Veda Vyasa – Skanda Purana. Maheswara Khanda, Arunachala Mahatmya – Book One, Translation and Annotation by Dr. G. V. Tagare
- ^ The Silent Power
- ^ A. R. Natarajan, Timeless in Time, Sri Ramana Maharshi
- The Mountain Path, pp. 75-84
- ISBN 81-88018-07-4) Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai html
- ^ Venkataramiah Munagala, (1936) Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi PDF Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Butler R, translator (2012) Arunachala Puranam, Saiva Ellappa Navalar, available as book and .pdf @ www.lulu.com
- ^ Jayaraman J., Extract from Sri Arunachala Puranam: , Vignettes
- A. R. Natarajan, Arunachala from Rigveda to Ramana Maharshi
- ^ Suri Nagamma, Letters from Sri Ramanasramam
- ^ Melton 2008
- ^ Gaur 2006, p. 21
- ^ Goodman 2002, pp. 38-39
- ^ Collected Works of Sri Ramana Maharshi
- ^ South India Handbook By Roma Bradnock
- ^ Sridhar, Lalitha (2017)."Holy hill gets its groves back". The Hindu, 1 April 2017. Accessed 4 May 2020. [1]
- ^ "Overview". The Forest Way. Accessed 4 May 2020.