After our bus debacle we finally made it to Tiruvannamalai, one of Tamil Nadu’s holiest destinations nestled at the bottom of the sacred Arunachala hill. This is one of South India’s five ‘elemental’ cities of Shiva; here the god is worshipped in his fire incarnation. We had booked our accommodation right next to the renowned Annamalaiyar temple, a temple dedicated to the god Shiva and goddess Parvati. This temple is famous for its giant gopurams (gateway towers), one of which is 66m high and is visited by around 1 million pilgrims yearly!!
As we made the 20 minute walk from the bus stand to our accommodation near the temple, we noticed a constant stream of people. It seemed unusually busy for a relatively small city, and there was a buzz in the air. As we approached the temple we started to see Shaivite priests, sadhus (spiritual men) and devotees milling about. We were slightly confused by this point, and after asking the manager at our accommodation what was happening we found out we had arrived the night before a full moon day. At every full moon, Tiruvannamalai swells with thousands of pilgrims who visit the temple and circumnavigate Arunachala hill in a purifying ritual known as Girivalam.
The manager at our accommodation told us there would be big queues the next day to enter the temple, and to try and beat the rush we woke up at 5am the next day and joined a line for the temple's opening at 5:30am. This temple dates back to the 7th century CE, and being one of the largest in India covers 10 hectares. We entered through one of the four gopurams as the sun was rising and casting blinding light over the tops of these giant gateways towers. It was a long line but we moved relatively quickly, and being there for sunrise on a busy full moon day definitely added to the experience.
This was my first Hindu temple experience and going into it I had no idea what to expect. Hinduism is a vast ancient religion comprising several varied systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual depending on what region of India you are in. I still understand very little about the religion, and I’m hoping to learn more throughout our time in India.
After our hectic morning temple experience and delicious breakfast at a south indian restaurant near our accommodation, we climbed back into bed for a much needed midmorning nap. We needed an energy boost, as our next plan was to hike up Arunachala hill for a birdseye view of the temple complex. This hike passes by a number of holy caves where a famous Hindu sage Ramana Maharshi resided for much of his life. He was one of the early Indian spiritual figures whose teachings made it to the west. We rocked up to this sacred hill in our hiking gear ready to climb up to the summit. As we marched up the cobblestone pathway, we felt rather out of place in our colourful lightweight merino tops and hiking shorts / yoga pants, and backpack with water bottles. Most people we passed were barefoot or wearing jandals, and carrying nothing with them. This was a bit naive of us, as hiking is not what this place was all about and we learnt that you don’t go to a sacred mountain to go hiking.
We reached an ashram perched on the side of the hill where there was a fabulous view of the temple and surrounding city. The ashram was very peaceful, phones and pictures were not allowed and silence was enforced. There were people meditating and resting. The only noises you could hear were the faint sound of horns from the traffic far below us in the busy city. We met some very friendly men outside the ashram who told us the hike to the top of the mountain is closed from here onwards, only opening once every year for a Hindu festival. This again reinforced to us that we were here to visit a sacred religious site, not to go for a hike.
Instead, we headed back down the hill with these friendly men giving us some basic lessons about Hinduism. Teaching us some of the basics about Shiva and various other deities as well as the rituals practiced in the temples. We passed another ashram on the way down with a cave area where we joined some pilgrims for a meditation. By the time we were back down in the noisy city, I felt much more relaxed and a little more knowledgeable about the Hindu religion. Tiruvannamalai was a great introduction to Hinduism, and the amazing temples that are visited by so many pilgrims every year. Next up we would be visiting Madurai, another ancient city famous for its Hindu temple to hopefully learn a little more about this amazing religion.