Hindus believe that Lord Ganesha is the God who has the power of removing all obstacles and making one’s path clear whether it be worldly or spiritual. Any new undertaking, either at one’s place of work or at home, always starts by reciting a mantra invoking his blessings. He is also known as the God of good luck and prosperity. Ganesha Chathurthi, which is the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesha, is celebrated in a grand manner all over India and in Tiruvannamalai too. This year, Ganesha Chathurthi fell on the 11^th of September and in the Sadhu Mandapam opposite Agni Theertham, a spectacular Ganesha of giant proportions was installed and worshipped with great pomp and splendour.
The most popular legend associated with Lord Ganesha can be found in the Shiva Puranam. Here it says that Lord Ganapati was created out of the dough that Goddess Parvati used for her bath. The Goddess wanted a gate-keeper, to keep visitors away while she took her bath. So She created a male doll from the dough and breathed life into it. The day she did this came to be known as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, which we celebrate today as Ganesh Chathurthi.
One day while Goddess Parvati was taking her bath, Lord Shiva came to visit her. Ganesha did not know him, so he did not allow the Lord to enter the house. This made Lord Shiva angry and he cut off poor Ganesha’s head. Later, when he came to know the truth, he replaced Ganesha’s head with the head of an elephant. After this, the appearance of Lord Ganesha changed and he became the elephant-headed god.
There is yet another popular legend associated with Ganesha Chaturthi, from Skanda Puranam. Here it says that once Ganesha was invited for a feast in Chandraloka (the Moon’s abode). Our Ganesha being quite fond of sweets, ate Laddoos till his stomach bloated,  so much so that as he got up to walk after the meal, he could not balance himself because of his huge stomach and he slipped and fell. His stomach burst and all the laddoos came rolling out. Seeing this, the Moon was highly amused and burst out laughing. Ganesha got angry and cursed the Moon that it would vanish from the universe.

Because of the Moon’s disappearance, the whole world began to wane. The gods asked Lord Shiva to get Ganesha to revoke his curse. The Moon also apologized for his misbehavior. Finally, Ganesha modified his curse saying that the Moon would be invisible only on one day of the month and would be partially seen on Ganesha Chaturthi. He also added that anyone who looked at the moon on Ganesha Chaturthi would face a false charge. This is the reason why, even today, it is considered inauspicious to look at the moon on Ganesha Chathurthi.

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The Pavala Kundru temple is dedicated to Lord Ardhanareeswara (androgynous form of the Lord as Half Shiva  – Half Parvathi). It is here that Parvathi performed Tapas to regain the favour of her Lord Shiva. He then appeared to her and absorbed her into himself and thus the two became one. This is how Ardhanareeswara was born. There are not many temples dedicated solely to Ardhanareeswara and this is a rare and special temple though relatively unknown.

Bhagavan Ramana stayed here in the year 1899 and granted spiritual instruction to his mother inside this temple. The mother is said to have been transformed into a deep spiritual being since then and devoted her life to serving her son in Tiruvannamalai itself whereas before she used to try to persuade him to return to the parental home in Madurai.

Pavala Kundru (coral rock) is  situated on the eastern spur of Arunachala. It earns its name because the rays of the rising sun are supposed to turn the whole rock to a lovely coral red. This less-known temple can be approached from the town through a little street leading off the Durgai Amman Kovil road about a kilometre after the main bus depot.  There is a good stone staircase hewn against the rock to climb up to the temple.

Once you reach there, you don’t hear the noise of the town anymore and it is thus an ideal spot for meditation because it is almost totally deserted and set in a quiet and peaceful spot with an abundance of natural flora and fauna. There is a huge old banyan tree right beside the temple and one can sit underneath and have a view of the hill on one side and the temple towers on the other which is indeed a rare sight.

The theertham for the temple is a pretty green natural pond inside a niche in the outhanging rocks and it has water all through the year even in hot summer. There are little steps leading down to it and the priest goes in daily to collect water for the pujas.

The Ramanashram deserves credit for having renovated this temple which was falling into ruins. The renovation has been done correctly, respecting and preserving the ancient architecture, without destroying the old stone work and the minimal use of concrete. It would be good if other shrines on the girivalam would also emulate this method of respecting the past in their over-zealous renovatory work.

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In the western world, Advent refers to the period preceding Christmas connected to the advent of Christ but here in Arunachala, Advent always refers to the day on which the great Sage of this epoch, our very own Bhagavan Ramana entered the sacred town of Tiruvannamalai.

In the year 1896, on the first of  September, Sri Ramana as a young lad of sixteen, arrived at the feet of the Holy Mountain. About a month earlier, in mid-July, he had already had his first death-experience and attained the highest truth which he called later as Self-Realisation. After this he became indifferent to his boyhood life, studies, play etc and began to seek solitude. For this, his elder brother taunted him and the young boy Ramana understanding the truth behind his brother’s rebuke, left his parental home leaving a note that he was going in search of his father. With this farewell note he left Madurai for ever.

Right from the time he left his house, a series of miracles took place and Arunachala mysteriously guided the youth to his final destination. It was Arunachala who delayed the train’s departure so that Ramana could board it and later on appeared in the form of a Maulvi in order to give the lad directions to reach Tiruvannamalai and then, lo and behold, actually granted divine dharshan to the boy in the form of a column of effulgence in the temple of Ariyanainallur.

Not many people know that the doors of the Arunachaleswara temple which were closed habitually at the time of his arrival, started to open one by one of their own accord just as Sri Ramana entered. Indeed is there any doubt left that the Son had thus returned to his Father’s house?

Who can describe what Ramana felt when he saw the Hill for the first time? In his own words: “I came up here and saw, and found thou stood as a Hill, But who then is the seer … no seer then remained. No mind survived even to say that I saw this, or even to say I didn’t.”

This year on September 1^st in Ramanashram, the Madurai Ramana Kendra conducted a series of parayanams (religious chanting) at the Samadhi shrine and at the Mothers shrine, as a way of commemorating Advent. Devotees participated in the chanting and thanked the Gods for bringing them to the Abode of the great Master whose Eternal Presence continues to thrill millions…

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Snake worship is an ancient and widespread religious practice in India. The Cobra is associated with the Lingam, the emblem of Lord Shiva. The Nagarpanchami snake festival is celebrated by many Hindus. On this day, people worship snake gods with flowers, milk and eggs in front of their idols in temples. Innumerable shrines containing images of the snake king Vasuki bear eloquent testimony to the influence of the Serpent on the social and spiritual fabric of India.

Here in Tiruvannamalai too, there are many termite mounds which are considered to be the dwelling place of serpents and hence venerated as snake temples. The most recent snake shrine is a huge termite hill on the left side of the outer Girivalam path a few metres after the Draupadi temple. Within a short time this temple has become quite popular and the resident serpent goddess has been christened “Nagathamman” (Naga means snake in Sanskrit).

In Hindu mythology we come across several episodes involving serpents. When the ocean of milk was churned for the recovery of ambrosia, the snake king Vasuki served as a rope and was tied around Mehru mountain. The poison ‘HalaHala’ which emerged from the ocean prior to the arisal of the nectar, was in danger of engulfing the whole universe. But Lord Shiva bravely consumed the poison emitted by the serpent and thus saved the universe from destruction. Due to the effect of the poison his throat became dark blue in colour. For this reason, Shiva has the name of NeelaKantha (the Blue-throated One).

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The tamil month of Aadi (sanskrit = Aashaada) has drawn to an end and the Goddess Shakthi to whom the whole month is dedicated is probably taking a much-needed rest after the frenzied rituals and celebrations with which she has been bombarded during all this month.

The culminating festival in her honour is the feast of Aadi Puram which falls on the Puram constellation. This year it was celebrated on August 12th and  in the big temple of Arunachaleswara, there took place a grand religious and devotional extravaganza on this day.

In the evening, the Goddess Parashakthi is brought to the valaiyal kappu mandapam in the 5th courtyard. Here first the Goddess is worshipped with a grand abhishekam. Then She is beautifully adorned in a silk sari and decked with golden ornaments and flowers. After this a long queue of women devotees offer bracelets and bangles (valaiyal) to the Goddess. The priest places the bracelets on Her arms and then returns them to the women as prasad. Rudram is chanted by the Vaidikas all the while.

This Valaiyal kappu (protection with bracelets) ceremony is traditionally performed for preganant women in their 8th or 9th month. On Aadi Puram, this ceremony is performed to the Goddess as it is a general belief that She is at this time expecting the birth of Muruga or Subramanya, the second son of Shiva and Parvathi.

However the logic which underlies the sequence of the rituals of Aadi Puram is quite enigmatic. Whereas the the ritual of valaiyal kappu is especially to protect the woman who is in an advanced stage of pregnancy, in the next ceremony after this, the Goddess is treated as a young virgin woman about to get married and receives the offering of a Thali, the traditional ornament of marriage. There seems to be in the celebration of Aadi Puram, an effect of condensation of all that the Goddess represents. This is amplified by the local cults of the Aadi month and the connection to Durga and is completed in the ensuing months with the Navaratri festival in autumn and the Karthikai festival in winter.

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The Ner Annamalai temple is found on the outer girivalam path about 1 km after the Shanthimalai ashram. It is located on a charming hillock just bordering the forest leading to the inner path.The shrine earns its name because the deity Annamlai inside faces the Arunachala hilltop directly (Ner in tamil means straight or direct). The temple mandapam is a hallowed spot for the sadhus and they gather here almost daily to sing and chant verses in praise of Arunachala.

The Arunachala sthala purana (verse 392) hails this temple as being the reason for the giripradakshina practice. According to legend,  Parvathi at one time having lost the favour of Shiva comes here as Unnamulai Amman and performs penance to regain the favour of her Lord. But still the Lord refuses to appear. Undaunted she starts to walk around the hill barefoot (giripradakshina) and it is at this spot that the Lord appears and re-unites with her. And thus the first giripradakshina was performed by the Divine Mother Herself!

On Karthigai Deepam day, simultaneously with the lighting of the Holy Beacon on the Mountain, a Deepam is always lit in this shrine also, to the loud chantings of Annamalaiyarukku Haro Hara. Twice in the year, on the auspicious day of Tamil New Year in April and then on the sacred day Krishna Jayanthi in August, the Sun rises directly in front of this temple and shines his rays fully on the Annamalaiyar Lingam inside the Sanctum Sanctorum. Behind the temple is an enormous Theertham with a great sunset view.

There is also a shrine to the Goddess UnnamulaiAmman beside the Lord’s shrine. Inside there is a very lovely statue of the Goddess where she stands gracefully, beaming at her devotees with infinite compassion. The Alamkaram to the Goddess are of particular beauty and taste and one cannot but stop and admire her royal attire and adornments as one passes by even on a daily walk…

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In the month of Aadi (July-August), which is devoted to the Mother Goddess (Amman), there is a popular rural celebration in Tamil Nadu called the Kooluthal festival. Kool is a type of gruel made of fermented ragi batter and at this time, each family prepares a pot of Kool and offers it at the local Amman temple where it is poured into a huge cauldron and offered to the resident Goddess (usually MariAmman, a rural form of Parvathi). This is then distributed to one and all as Prasad. During the festival, the whole main street from the temple is decorated with banana and palm fronds and shiny coloured lights are strung everywhere. There are also enormous lighted cut-outs depicting the Goddess which blaze at night and strike the attention of every passer-by.

This week in the village of Adi Annamalai, the Kooluthal festival was celebrated on a grand scale. The morning after the distribution of the Kool, the ritual with the karagam dancers was performed. This involves a group of male dancers, some with flower-decorated pots balanced on their heads, musicians of three sorts, a few with drums, some others with waving cymbals and more others with bells tied around their feet and brass rings in their hands. This group makes a tour of all the streets in the village. The ones with the pots on their heads are considered to be embodiments of the Goddess and are worshipped by each family with women washing their feet with pots of water, applying turmeric and vermilion on their feet and then prostrating on the ground in front of them.

In the evening, the Goddess is brought out in procession and fireworks are set off. Later that night there is much fun and merry-making among all the people. Film shows, dramas and other entertainment shows take place in the ground outside the temple and the rural folk relax and enjoy themselves.

This is the time of year when summer is drawing to an end and the first rains have arrived. People are relieved that the great heat is over and that they can start the next season of cultivation soon. It is a time of hope. The Goddess is propitiated with the belief that the rains will be bountiful and that they would reap a good harvest and have prosperity in their lives with Her blessings.

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The full moon which appears in the Hindu month of Aadi (Aashada) (July-August) is observed as the auspicious day of Guru Purnima, a day sacred to the memory of the great sage, Vyasa. Indeed, we are all indebted to this ancient saint who edited the four Vedas, wrote the 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata.

On this day, all spiritual aspirants and devotees worship their guru and all disciples perform a ‘puja’ to their respective spiritual preceptor or ‘Gurudeva’.

Moreover, this day is of great importance to the farmers, for it heralds the setting in of the much-needed monsoon rains, as the drenching of the cool rain on the earth after the hot summer makes everything grow and become green and lush again. It is also considered as a very beneficial time for all spiritual practices. Traditionally, spiritual seekers are taught to intensify and take seriously their spiritual ‘sadhana’ from this day.

The period ‘Chaturmas’ (“four months”) starts on this day. In puranic times, this was the period when wandering spiritual masters and their disciples used to settle down at a place to study and discourse on the Brahma Sutras composed by Vyasa, and engage themselves in Vedantic discussions.

In Tiruvannamalai, the spiritual centre of the universe, millions perform giri pradakshina and walk around the holy mountain Arunachala with the earnest hope of gaining spiritual wealth from the Guru of Gurus, the timeless embodiment of the Self in the form of an earthly mountain. May we all surrender to his Holy Feet on this Guru Purnima and realize the true Arunachala who shines in the depth of every heart!

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The Palani Andavar kovil is found on the outer girivalam path opposite the now derelict Echo mandapam. It is a temple dedicated to Muruga, the second son of Shiva who is the main god of the Tamils. The name Palani is derived from the region of Palani on the western ghats mountains where Muruga is believed to have become enlightened and manifests there as a naked young boy smeared with ashes, Palani Andavar, the Lord of Palani.

The legend of this Palani temple on the girivalam is that Bhringi Maharshi is supposed to have undergone tapas at this spot and Muruga appeared to him there as Palani Andavar and granted him liberation (Mukthi).

Today it is quite a popular shrine for local tamils. A loudspeaker blares bhajans all day long and coloured serial lights glitter at night . The saving grace is the magnificent old Peepul tree beside the temple with lush green foliage and a multitude of birds singing away. One can sit underneath this tree and enjoy the holy energy of this place more than in the temple mandapam which seems to have become an extended living quarters of the resident sadhu priest !

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The term Dakshinayanam literally means southern journey. Here it refers to the Indian Summer solistice, for in hindu puranic yore the Sun is believed to move towards the South at this time. It seems to accentuate the  idea that we are entering the darker part of the year – less sun, more rain, longer nights…

As Arunachala is also revered as the Sun mountain, events involving the Sun are always celebrated here as a festival.

The Dakshinayanam festival begins in the big temple exactly 10 days before the summer solistice which, in India, falls around the 17^th of July. It takes place on the usual course of an Utsavam (temple festival). Even though the meaning of the festival is not very explicit, one can eventually glean the cosmic dimension in it, for, at this time of year such a festival seeks to define the auspicious period in which the idea of death leading to ascension is highlighted in a most subtle way.

Each day in the morning around sunrise and in the evening around sunset the different gods of the hindu pantheon are taken out on procession. The yagasala is opened since the first day and two kalasams representing the Sun (Surya) and his wife, Chaya (the Shadow) are venerated according to vedic rituals for the first 9 days. On the 10^th day, at the culmination of the festival, the kalasams are brought outside on procession with the gods and taken inside the main shrine for bathing the deities.

The main difference between the Dakshinayanam and the Uttarayanam (Northern Journey – winter solisice festival) is the place accorded to the Tiruvoodal (divine quarrel). Whereas it stays as a private affair now and is only performed within the walls of the temple shrine, at Uttarayanam, the Tiruvoodal is a public affair and taken right to the streets and enacted in the view of the public. One wonders why and the answer is “even the Gods like to keep their affairs in the dark at this time!”

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