Thiruvannamalai City General Information

Thiruannamalai is a pilgrimage town, and a district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the district. Tiruvannamalai is home to the Annamalaiyar Temple located at the foot of the Annamalai hill. It has been associated with many yogis and siddhars, and more recently the 20th century guru Ramana Maharshi.

Pilgrimage, Thiruvannamalai Temple from the hill.
Tiru is one of the panchabhootasthalas representing the fire element along with Chidambaram, Sri Kalahasti, Thiruvanaikoil and Kanchipuram representing sky, air, water and earth respectively. Four Brahmotsavams are celebrated every year, the most famous of which is the one celebrated during the Tamil month of Karthigai (November/December). The ten day event culminates on the day of Karthigai Deepam. On that evening, a huge lamp is lit in a cauldron with three tons of ghee at the top of the Annamalai hill. Every full moon night, lakhs of pilgrims worship Shiva by circumambulating the Arunachala hill barefoot. The circumambulation covers a distance of about 14 km.On the yearly Chitra Powrnami (full moon) night in the Tamil calendar year, lakhs of pilgrims come from across the world to worship Him. The height of the Arunachala hill is approximately 1,600 feet. Advaita Vedanta guru Ramana Maharshi lived in Thiru for fifty three years until his death in 1950. His ashram, Ramanasramam, is located at the foot of the Arunachala hill, to the west of the town. Seshadri Swamigal and Yogi RamSurat Kumar are examples of two other gurus who lived in this city.

Do not take excess kumkum or Bhasma and finally put them on the wonderful carvings. These are very rare carvings and need to be preserved. Let the temple management know that the root cause is excess of the ash and kumkum and scratching this precious work with brush once in a while is not the solution and it harms the temple rather than saving it.

Architecture

The 11 tiered East Rajagopuram towers to a height of 217 feet, while the fortified walls pierced with 4 gopura entrances offer a formidable look to this vast temple complex . The Pei Gopuram, Tirumanjana Gopuram and Ammanaiammal gopuram are the other three. The 1000 pillared hall and the temple tank were built by Krishna Deva Rayarar of Vijayanagar. Each of the prakarams has a huge Nandi and several towers such as the Vallala Maharaja Gopuram and Kili Gopuram.

Geography

Thiru is located at 12132 N 79042 E / 12.22, 79.07[4]. It has an average elevation of 171 metres (561 feet). Thiruvanamalai is situated 185 km from Chennai and 210 km from Bangalore.

Saathanoor Dam across Thenpennai River is a tourist place near Thiruvannamalai.

Demographics

As of 2001[update] India census[5], Thiruvannamalai had a population of 130,301. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Thiruvannamalai has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 68%. In Thiruvannamalai, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Hindu mudaliyar,vanniyar,adidravidar and naidu communities are the major livings.

Transport and travel to Tiruvannamalai Road:

Thiruvannamalai is well connected to many cities and towns in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh by road. This town lies on the junction of the Chittoor – Cuddalore state highway and the Puduchery – Bengalooru national highway (NH 66). The TNSTC operates many bus services to the different towns and cities in Tamil Nadu.

Train:

A railway line between Vellore and Villupuram passes through Thiruvannamalai, where passengers can board a passenger train to Vellore (up) or Villupuram (down) (traffic in this section is now closed for gauge conversion). The nearest major railway station is at Tindivanam (63 km).

Air:

The nearest airport is at Chennai 195 km.