Thiruvannamalai Simply Divine :Part 1

Thiruvannamalai Simply Divine :Part 1

"By seeing Chidambaram, by being born in Tiruvarur, by dying in Kasi, or by merely thinking of Arunachala, one will surely attain Liberation." - Arunachala Mahatmyam.

The greatness of the holy hill of Arunachala, there are huge voluminous information of Thiruvannamalai.  This post would be a handout for novice visitors. The portions of this series would cover brief introduction of places in thiruvananamalai that would be covered, good hotels for Veg food, convenient places for stay at different budgets, Giirivalam it's significance and temples en route the girivalam. The objective of this post is to plan an effective 2 full day  stay at Thiruvannamalai.

Legend of Arunachala:
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 Siva was asked to be the judge. Lord Siva told them that whoever was able to see his crown as well as his feet would be termed as the greatest. Lord Shiva is said to have manifested as a column of light, and then the form of Arunachala.Vishnu,took the avatar of varaha (wild boar) and dug deep into the earth to find Siva's feet but at last accepted defeat. Bramha took the form of a swan and flew to see the crown of Siva. Unable to see the crown, Bramha saw a thazhambu flower which had decked Siva's crown falling down. He asked the flower as to the distance of Siva's crown whereby the flower replied that he had been falling for forty thousand years. Bramha, realizing that he would not be able to reach the crown asked the flower to act as a false witness.The thazhambu flower acting as a false witness declared that Brahma had seen the crown. Siva became angry at the deception and cursed that Bramha should have no temple on earth and that the thazhambu flower should not be used while praying to Lord Siva. The place where Lord Siva stood as a column of fire to eliminate the ego is Thiruvannamalai.

Location:

The Holy Hills of Arunachala city is located about 180 kilometres from Chennai. The best Way to reach Arunachala is by road, which are well laid and gives a smooth ride, which is uncommon in India. Other means of transport is train, one can reach Tindivanam or Villupuram by train and then there on take road to Thiruvannamalai. The place is around 80 Kms from Vellore.

TiMaS Tip: If you are going from Chennai, either pick up cab from Chennai to  and fro or if you plan to pick up cab at thiruvannamalai, reach out to some cabs or rental taxis from Tindivanam or Villupuram -pick up and drop. Normally people charge any where between Rs 8 to 11/- per KM for A/C Tata Indigo and Driver Bata of Rs 150 per day. You will get the best price if you can negotiate better and go through some local people. If you pay around Rs 8 per Km with driver bata of Rs 150 per day- you have a good deal for Indigo and for Rs6/Km for Indica

View Larger Map

Staying at Thiruvannamalai:
Thiruvannamalai has lots of hotels to stay and Ashrams also offer a good accommodation at affordable prices and depending on budget you can choose to stay you will get good facilities. If you are staying in Hotel, check with them before you start a day before to re confirm and in case if you want to stay in Ashram, you need to book anywhere between 3 weeks to 4 weeks ahead of time. All these hotels and Ashrams have online booking and telephone booking. When you are booking through online or taking a package through IRCTC check for the discount code and promotional code if any, you can get some good bargains. Best time to visit Thiruvannamalai is during off season especially during week day, and you can negotiate on the tariffs and get good discounts during off season

TiMaS Tip: Please choose a place close by Sri Ramanashram if you do not have cab. If you have a cab then you can choose the places near Polur road or at the end of Girivalam path. Do not choose accommodation close to temple because it's crowded and has issues with traffic and you may have to always head towards the Chengam road or Polur road to go around places. The temple is easily accessible at a radius of 3 to 4 Km on either side.