Temples – Seasons of Life!

The Spiritual City of Tiruvannamalai

It was nearly 9.00 PM when we arrived. After asking a passerby for direction, the driver of our car took a turn, and we entered a narrow lane. I felt an instant sense of calm. Thinking that my mind was being unnecessarily dramatic, I ignored the feeling. I could have been under some cognitive bias, but the feeling was intense. I had to blurt it out to my sister, sitting right next to me. It surprised me quite a bit when she acknowledged my feeling stating that she felt the same.

Through the car window, we could see a hill reaching out to the night sky. It appeared really close, as if we could stretch our hands and touch it. That has to be the sacred Arunachala, we thought. And, so it was!

We had just reached Tiruvannamalai, located in the state of Tamil Nadu, after covering a distance of about 215 Km. from Bangalore. It was the last day of the year 2020 and this wasn’t a planned trip, though Tiruvannamalai has been in our travel list for a while now. Our only intention of wanting to visit this place was Sri Ramana Maharish’s Ashram. The ancient temple town, however, gave us much more.

Here are some highlights of our Tiruvannamalai trip on the weekend that ushered the year 2022.

Girivalam around Arunachala Hill

The holy city of Tiruvannamalai is located at the foothills of Arunachala Hill. Considered to be sacred and revered by Hindus in South India, the hill is also known as Annamalai, Arunagiri, Arunachalam, Arunai, Sonagiri, and Sonachalam. At a height of about 3000ft., located in Eastern Ghats, the hill with five peaks is believed to be the living manifestation of Lord Shiva.

Girivalam or circumambulation around the hill barefoot for a 14 Km. distance is common practice by devotees. We had no idea about this ritual but decided to participate when we learnt about it (you can read the details here).

*Pic 2: Girivalam on the paved road around Arunachala Hill.*

Recently, I also learnt about Karthigai Deepam, a special festival performed on the tenth day of the month of Kartik (November–December). On this day an enormous pot filled with gallons of ghee mixed with camphor is placed on the highest of Arunachala’s five peaks. Devotees light a fire precisely at 6.00 PM creating a giant flame, the glow of which is visible from miles around.

Hurried Visit to Arunachaleswar Temple

Early morning at 4.30 AM on New Year we found ourselves at Arunachaleswar Temple, also known as Annamalaiyar Temple. Thinking that the temple would be crowded, we had kept it as an optional visit. Our purpose was Girivalam, the starting point of which was the temple. Also, we did not know the significance of this age-old temple at that point of time.

The temple appeared quite empty and so we decided to pay our obeisance. Once inside, it was quite the opposite and we found ourselves stuck in a queue that took up a little more than two hours. The bigger concern, however, was that most people were not wearing masks.

*Pic 3: A part of the large water tank at the temple.*

*Pic 4: Some hurriedly clicked pictures inside the temple.*

Dating back to 9^th century, the temple spreads across an area of 25 acres. It was built by the Chola Dynasty and expanded during the Vijayanagar period. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva, known as Arunachaleswar or Annamalaiyar and Goddess Parvati, known as Unnamalai Amman. The temple has several other deities as well.

There are four Gopurams (towered gateways, typical of temples in South India), the eastern one or Raja Gopuram being the tallest at a height of 217 ft. with 11 stories. Several pillared halls and a large tank are the other highlights of the temple. However, with our time constraint, we couldn’t explore much.

*Pic 5: Raja Gopuram, the largest of the four gopurams located in the East.*

Peace at Sri Ramanashram

Having read about Ramana Maharishi in several spiritual books, we were very keen to visit his ashram, and that was our primary objective of visiting Tiruvannamalai. Known as Sri Ramanasramam, this is where the saint had lived for more than three decades. The ashram is situated at the foot of Arunachala Hill and it houses his samadhi as well. We spent a couple of hours at the ashram on both the days, meditating in peace, soaking in the hymns and chants, and visiting the ashram bookstore.

*Pic 6: Entrance gate of Sri Ramanashram*

*Pic 7: The main complex at Ramanashram.*

We were also very keen to hike up Arunachala Hill to visit Virupaksha cave and Skandasramam, where Ramana Maharishi had spent a significant time meditating. Somewhere up the hill one can also get a great view of the huge Arunachaleswarar Temple complex in its entirety. A misinformation led us to think that both these places were temporarily closed due to the pandemic. Hiking up the hill would have most certainly been the highlight of my trip, but we missed. I just have to go again!

*Pic 7: Pictures from inside Ramanashram*

*Pic 8: A Peacock happily lives in the ashram complex.*

Special Mentions

There are several other ashrams and temples at Tiruvannamalai. Besides Sri Ramanasramam, we visited Yogi Ramsuratkumar Ashram and Sri Seshadri Swamigal Ashram.

This post on Tiruvannamalai will, however, remain incomplete without mentioning our lunch at Prasad’s Home Kitchen. It constitutes pure satvik vegetarian food cooked in Mr. Prasad’s home. There is no menu, and you eat what he cooks on a given day. You sit on the marbled floor and place the plate on a plastic stool. There are no table, no chairs, no frills, no fancy, minimalism at its very best. At Rs. 120.00 per plate, I can easily say it’s the best vegetarian food I have had in a long, long time. Being a regular traveler, I can vouch for that! Oh yes, after the meal you wash and clean your own plates too. If you’re at Tiruvannamalai, you wouldn’t want to miss this experience.

*Pic 9: The heavenly vegetarian and homely food at Prasad’s Home Kitchen.*

The Grace of ‘Girivalam’

The first day of 2022…

“Are you planning Girivalam on the first day of 2022?”, enquired my friend when I told him that my sister and I were considering a visit to Tiruvannamalai on the New Year weekend. I had never heard about Girivalam before. Not surprising as I come from East India, so what if I have lived in Bangalore for more than a decade now. I am not aware of all the traditions and customs of South India. And, though I am deeply spiritual, I am not as much religious. My sister and I were just thinking of visiting Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi’s Ashram or Ramanashram, which we have been wanting to do for a while now.

*Pic 1: There were several ponds along the Girivalam path, this is one of those.*

Tiruvannamalai is an ancient temple town in Tamil Nadu situated at the foot of Arunachala Hill, a low rocky hill rising to a height of about 3000 feet. Believed to be the living manifestation of Lord Shiva, Arunachala has been mentioned in several ancient texts including the Puranas. Besides Arunachala, the temple town is famous for Annamalaiyar Temple and Ramanashram. There are several other ashrams and temples as well.

When we set out for Tiruvannamalai, our main interest was Ramanashram. However, now that I have completed Girivalam, it feels as significant as my experience at the ashram.

*Pic 2: A huge Banyan Tree somewhere along the Girivalam route.*

Girivalam (for the uninitiated, like me) is the age-old practice of circumambulation around the sacred Arunachala. In Tamil, ‘giri’ means mountain and ‘valam’ means to circle. It involves a walk of about 14 Km. around the sacred hill. A visit to Tiruvannamalai is considered incomplete without Girivalam. My sister and I decided to go for it. I enjoy walking anyway. The usual practice is to perform Girivalam on full moon nights, but it can be done anytime. Practically, the hot weather conditions of Tamil Nadu would make it quite difficult to perform Girivalam during the day. Ideally the walk is done barefoot.

It was Winter Season and first day of the year 2022. We embarked upon Girivalam around 6.30 AM, after paying our obeisance at the Annamalaiyar Temple, also known as Arunachalesvara Temple. The cool January day was even cooler with a light breeze and sporadic light showers. The weather was clearly on our side, a blessing from Arunachala.

*Pic 3: The tree-lined Girivalam Road. There’s a broad sidewalk too but in most places it remains occupied by Sadhus leaving people to walk on the road itself.*

We started walking on the asphalt road that surrounds the hill, like most people do. There’s a way through the wilderness too at the base of the hill, but it cannot be done unless you’re with someone who knows the way. A large part of the road is through tree-lined roads with forests on either side. A part of it passes through the highway too. Some sections of the road is also flanked by surrounding villages. All through the road vehicles ply continuously, which isn’t a pleasant experience, but you don’t need to be worried about being run down as the drivers are cognizant of all the Girivalam walkers.

A large section of the path does have a broad paved sidewalk, which makes it easier to walk. Dozens of temples line the route. The most prominent of them are the eight lingams or asthalingams, that pilgrims stop by on the way. Each lingam signifies different directions of the earth. They are as Indralingam, Agnilingam, Yamalingam, Niruthilingam, Varunalingam, Vayulingam, Kuberlingam and Esanyalingam.

*Pic 4: A visual map of the Girivalam route, present at regular intervals, provides guidance to the devotees and walkers.*

There were several people walking that day, but it wasn’t crowded. Nevertheless, we made sure we had our N-95 masks on all through the way. I believe the crowd would swell on full moon nights or during specific festivals. Walking barefoot wasn’t an easy task, given that we aren’t used to it. The gravel and other particles on the road prick your soles and your feet invariably starts paining. After a certain distance, the pain in my sister’s feet heightened and she was unable to take another step. We bought a pair of thick socks from a shop that was just opening its shutters. The socks provided much needed relief and she was able to continue with the walk.

*Pic 5: The sacred Arunachala partially hidden in the clouds.*

The majestic and divine view of Arunachala from various angles kept us going. We walked at our own pace, slow and steady. After a while, the pain in the feet didn’t bother us anymore and we started to enjoy the walk. We stopped once at a temple where a local family was offering food to the pilgrims. It was fresh and hot home cooked food. Nothing could have been a better breakfast than this. The second time we paused was halfway through, craving for a cup of tea to recharge and refresh. After walking for 4.5 hours, we were back at the temple entrance, where we had started walking, completing our circumambulation around Arunachala.

*Pic 6: Several such colourful temples and ashrams can be seen all through the Girivalam route.*

Arunachala is captivating to say the least and it grows on you. Back at Bangalore, the visuals of the hill from the various angles keep flashing in my memory. I am certain that I will go back. And, in case I decide to perform Girivalam again, I’ll make sure it’s on a full moon night. Some experiences are extraordinary that have no logical explanation and Girivalam is certainly one of those.

Someone at Tiruvannamalai told us that Arunachala is like a magnet. If you come here once, you come here several times. Guess he was right!

Temple Tales from Somnathpur

It took us a while to get into the temple premises. The temple is a protected monument and maintained by Archeological Survey of India (ASI). Tickets for entry to such places now require scanning an ASI QR code. Our phone network happened to be unusually slow causing some unnecessary delay, testing our patience, and sufficiently frustrating us.

As I entered through the doorway after reading the description displayed at the entryway, my jaws literally dropped. The magnificence of the temple caught me off-guard. I knew about this temple but hadn’t expected such stunning architectural brilliance. “How did I never happen to come here before!”, I couldn’t help wondering, having stayed in Bangalore for more than a decade now. This reaction was triggered off just at the very first glance. As we walked around exploring the temple, every corner only left us even more astonished.

*Pic 1: The mantapa on entering through the doorway adorned with lathe turned pillars, which happens to be a typical feature of Hoysala architecture.*

The 13^th century Keshava Temple, also known as Chennakesava Temple, is located in a small town called Somnathpur in the Mandya district of Karnataka. It is at a distance of about 140 Km. from Bangalore and just about 35 Km. away from Mysore. Situated in the banks of River Cauvery, the temple was built by Somanatha, a celebrated army commander of the Hoysala Dynasty. He established the town of Somnathpur, which he named after himself.

The temples built during the rule of the Hoysalas are unique in their intricate sculptures and great story telling. The temples of Belur and Halebidu are said to be the best ambassadors of Hoysala architecture. I haven’t been there yet but have heard a lot about their spectacular grandeur. I had no idea that Somnathpur Temple belonged to the same league and was another masterpiece of Hoysala architecture.

*Pic 2: The Western and Southern Shikharas. Notice the star-shaped elevated platform on which stands the temple.*

The temple is carved from soapstone and is dedicated to Lord Krishna in the three forms of Keshava, Janardhana, and Venugopala. The main temple is at the center of a courtyard, built on an elevated star-shaped platform which, I learnt is one of the unique aspects of Hoysala temples. Surrounding the courtyard is a pillared corridor that has several chambers all along. Perhaps they would have housed deities at that time, they are empty now.

*Pic 3: The pillared corridor that surrounds the courtyard.*

*Pic 4: The pillared corridor from another angle. Notice the chambers all along.*

The temple wall on the exterior has intricate carvings and sculptures depicting stories from the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, and also Bhagavata Purana. The exquisite attention to detail that has clearly gone into these carvings was mystifying to say the least. The dancing Goddess Lakshmi, the angry Lord Ganesha, the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu, the four headed Lord Brahma, the intricate Mahisashura Mardini – just to name a few. The meticulous carvings also depict battles, folklore, music, dance, and much more. The stories in carvings are in a clockwise direction, thoughtfully designed as it is the same as the direction of a pradakshina or circumambulation.

*Pic 5: The fascinating and exquisitely detailed sculptures on the exterior wall.*

*Pic 6: The magnificence of these sculptures are a delight to the eyes.*

After spending a decent amount of time walking around the temple admiring the detailed carvings, we stepped inside. The inside of the temple is just as fascinating. The magnificent ceiling with all the intricate ornate carvings and miniature sculptures is simply amazing. A guide, who was with another group, explained that the ceiling constitutes of 16 finely carved symmetrical squares, some of which are depictions of the Lotus flower at different stages of development. The main idol of Keshava is situated on the sanctum sanctorum while Janardhana and Venugopala are on either side. According to ASI, the original Keshava idol went missing and has been replaced. The idols of Janardhana and Venugopala are damaged.

The temple is not functional and is not used as a place of worship anymore, the idols being broken and desecrated by invaders of that age and time. It stands as a monument today bearing testimony to the superior craftmanship of the artists and sculptors of the bygone Hoysala era.

*Pic 7: The extraordinary craftsmanship is like a poetry unfolding.*

*Pic 8: One can spend hours examining the details that have gone into these carvings.*

I am a nature person and usually get disengaged very easily with things that are lifeless. Museums and places of architectural significance as not quite for me. That explains why I overlooked visiting this place earlier. However, when it comes to such intricate artwork it’s a different story altogether. My mind weaves stories thinking about the artisans, their unparalleled creativity, the lives of people at that time – the royalty, the commoners, their festivals, their triumphs and hardships, and so on and so forth. It’s mind-boggling and fascinating.

Now, I can’t wait to explore the Hoysala temples of Belur and Halebidu. Had it not been for the pandemic, I would have long been on my way. Smitten by Somnathpur Keshava Temple, I was curious to know about the other Hoysala temples in the state of Karnataka. I learnt that there are 137 Hoysala temples of significant value in the state. Quite a number that is, isn’t it!

Ambling Around Kanyakumari

It was Christmas time of the special year of 2020 when a whimsical decision took us to Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of the Indian mainland. We were all set to explore the coastal part of Karnataka but landed in Tamil Nadu instead. This was my third visit to Kanyakumari – first time as a 9-year old with my father, second time with a friend 8 years ago, and this time with my sisters. I had never thought I would be visiting Kanyakumari again, but it happened.

Kanyakumari, known as Cape Comorin during British rule in India, is an ancient city that finds mention in accounts of Marco Polo and Ptolemy. It is the meeting point of Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Indian Ocean.

Pic 1: Sunrise at Kanyakumari. Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Thiruvalluvar Statue seen in the distance

Kanyakumari for me has been synonymous with two things – first, the tranquility at Vivekananda Memorial Rock; second, the deep ocean waters that sometimes appeared blue, sometimes green, and sometimes a combination of both. Oh yes, I mustn’t forget the amazing sunrises and sunsets. However, there’s much more to Kanyakumari, which I discovered this time. And, the credit goes to fellow blogger Sugan, for all the recommendation and guidance.

Pic 2: Sunset at Kanyakumari. This picture was clicked in 2012.

Vattakottai Fort

Built in 18th century during the reign of Travancore kingdom, Vattakottai is a coastal fort. Vattakottai fort, which translates as circular fort is a protected site, maintained by Archeological Survey of India (ASI). Built for coastal defense, the fort is constructed of granite blocks. The walls are carved with motifs of fish, that is said to be characteristic of the Pandya Kingdom.

The most alluring aspect of Vattakottai Fort is its perfect scenic location, with the sea on one side and the hills of western ghats on the other. This coupled with the black sands of the sea beach overlooking the fort makes it extremely attractive. A part of the fort extends into the sea and that reminded me of Diu Fort, which I had visited 2 years back. The latter however is much bigger and is much more fascinating.

Pic 4: Nothing beats the scenic location of Vattakottai Fort.

Bhagavathy Amman Temple

Kanyakumari derives its name from Goddess Kanya Kumari. The virgin goddess, also known as Kumari Amman is believed to be an incarnation of Goddess Durga. Bhagavathy Amman Temple, dedicated to the Devi, is a 3000-year-old temple that finds mention in the epics of Ramanyana and Mahabharata.

Pic 5: A glimpse into the hallway of the 3000 year old Temple. Photography of the idol is not allowed.

Intrigued, after having read about the interesting myths and legends of the Devi in a book – from her love for Lord Shiva to the marriage that did not happen, her nose ring that had confused sailors leading to shipwrecks – I had always wanted to visit the temple. (You can read the legend in detail here ).

The glittering diamond nose ring is the most fascinating aspect of the idol. The sparkle of this nose ring had been mistaken as a lighthouse causing ships to crash on the rocky coast. As a result, the door facing east has been permanently shut and is opened only on special occasions.

Temple of Mayi Amma

It’s a very tiny nondescript temple on the beach, hardly noticeable unless you know about it. We happened to chance upon it. Again, I had read about Mayi Amma in a book. She was a saint, who would literally walk on the surface of the ocean waters and meditate on a rock for hours together completely oblivious to the hot sun. Her disciples constituted a pack of dogs. She hardly ever spoke to anyone but was revered by the locals. The temple has a couple of her black and white photographs. She is said to have taken samadhi in 1993.

Pic 6: A throwback picture with my sister and friend at Kanyakumari in 2012.

Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar Statue

Situated around 500 meters away from the shore, Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a mammoth rock where Swami Vivekananda had meditated and attained enlightenment. This rock memorial constitutes the main attraction at Kanyakumari. People all over the world visit Kanyakumari mainly to see Vivekananda Rock Memorial

Vivekananda Mandapam and Sripada Mandapam are the two main structures at the memorial. The latter is said to be a place where Goddess Kanya Kumari had meditated for Lord Shiva. This is ratified by the presence of a foot mark on the rock, which supposedly belongs to the Devi. Consequently, the rock where the memorial stands is known as Sripada Parai (Sripada means Devi’s feet in Sanskrit and Parai means rock in Tamil).

Pic 7: Vivekananda Mandapam, which also has a meditation hall.

Thiruvalluvar Statue or Valluvar Statue is located on another rock just a little away from Vivekananda Rock Memorial. It is the 41-metre-tall stone statue of Tamil poet and philosopher, Valluvar. Entry to this statue was closed at that time and hence we could not go up to the statue. However, the view from Vivekananda Rock Memorial was good enough.

Pic 9: Thiruvalluvar Statue as seen from Vivekananda Rock Memorial. This picture was clicked in 2012.

Besides these places, we also visited Padmanabhapuram Palace located 30 Km. away from Kanyakumari. I have written about that in my next post.

Do visit my previous post on Manapad beach, which is another place we visited during our Kanyakumari Trip.

Kanyakumari, I will be back again! So what if I have already visited you three times! There are places that I couldn’t cover this time and so I must go again.