Arunachala Temple - Tiruvannamalai

The available records say that the temple was built in the 9th century A.D. by the Chola kings. (Adi Arunachlaeshwarar temple is the oldest in the region and it ages more than 2,200 years). The temple is very famous for its massive gopurams and the 11 tiered East Raja Gopuram was built by the chola emperors and the expansion of the temple took place during reign of the VijayaNagar King Krishna deva rayar's supervision who built the 1000 pillared hall and the temple tank. The presiding deity in this temple is Lord shiva and the Godess Parvathi blesses us here in the name of 'Unnamulai Amman'.

Tirumala- The Bhooloka Vaikuntam

Triumala Sri Venkateshwara temple is located in the hill town Tirumala of Andhra Pradesh. The presiding deity of this temple is Lord Venkateshwara and this temple is the richest and most worshipped in the world. Atleast 50,000 pilgrims visit this temple everyday and during festive seasons the number shoots upto 500,000 a day. The idol here is the self manifested form of Lord Vishnu and the lord is said to preside over here during the entire Kali Yuga period.

Lord venkateshware hill is located on the Venkatadri Hill, one of the 7 hills of Tirumala and hence it is also known as Sapthagiri temple ( Temple of 7 hills). The Holy mantra chanted is Om Namo Venkateshaya. Composers like Annamayya, Thiyagaraja have compsed beautiful kirtanas( Songs) on Lord Venkateshwara. The 7 hills represent Saptha Rishis ( 7 Sages according to Hindu terminology) and the lord is also reffered as 'Sapthagirivasan'. The name of the 7 hills are Vrushabadri, Anjanadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Sheshadri, Narayanadri, Venkatadri.

Tiruvannamalai - The Divine Capital Of Cosmos

Tiruvannamalai is the place where Annamalaiyar (Arunachaleshwarar) temple is located and it is one of the greatest Shiva temples in the world. Tiruvannamalai haas long been associated with Yogis and Siddhars. Tiruvannamalai earned it's worldwide fame because of the famous 20th century guru Sri Ramana Maharishi.

A common feeling among devout Hindus is: Birth at Tiruvarur is a boon. Visiting Chidambaram is a boon. Death at Varanasi is a boon. Thought of Tiruvannamala itself is a boon. Tiruvannamalai is one of the 'Pancha bhoota sthal'(Sthalangal in Tamil) and it represent the Fire element along with Chidambaram(Sky), Tiruvanaikoil(Water), Kancheepuram(Land) and SriKalahasti(Air). A grand scale celebration takes place on the Karthigai Dheepam day and on that evening, a huge lamp lit on the top of the mountain in a cauldron which contain 3 tonnes of Ghee.

Girivalam (Circumambulation) of the 14km distance mountain is considered to be and more than hundred thousands of pligrims circumambulate the Arunachala hills barefoot on every full moon day. Advaita Vedanta guru Bhagavan Shri Ramana Maharishi lived here for 53 years until his death in 1950 and his ashram is located at the foothills of Arunachala mountain.

My Blog Preamble

I am a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva & Vishnu and I often visit Tiruvanamalai and Tirupati since my college days. As blogs have become a common aspect in everyone's life nowadays, I am doing my best to preach good things to people through the same medium.

P.s: If you have any vital information about Tiruvannamalai or Tirumalai please share here as it may reach to everyone who visits this blog.

Hari Vs Haran: A never ending debate

For ages, there exists a tug of war between the Vaishnavites and Saivites regarding the superiority of one God over the other. But the reality is HARI and SHIVA are one and Fools are those who refuse to believe this fact. I like to mention that Tiruvannamalai contains Tirumalai and Srinivasan contains Sivan in their respective names. For those who still could not sort out: TIRUvannaMALAI & SrinIVasAN. Hope you get the terms.

Om Namahshivaya- Namo Narayanaya: My First Post

With the Blessings of Almighty, I am starting this new blog to share with you all the best possile information known to me regarding the two holy place in this world: Tiruvannamalai- The divine capital of Cosmos and Tirumala- The Bhooloka Vaikuntaa (Heaven on Earth).