36.
TIRUVANNAMALAI-ARUNACHALAM
Page 102THE Lord enshrined in the great Temple here is known
by the name of Arunachaleswara1 (Tamil:
Annamalaiyar). The Mother Uma enshrined in the Temple
is known as Apithakucha Nayaki (Tamil: Unnamulai Amman
). The Lord has in truth no name, no form; He
embodies Himself in name and form, so that His devotees
may easily see and love Him.
The Tamil land has indeed the fortune to be studded
with sacred shrines of the embodied Lord; this has enriched
her culture and made her glorious. Of these great shrines,
Tiruvannamalai is unique in that Brahma and Vishnu
sought the furthermost limits of Arunachala, while He
stood as a huge column of Fire. The failure of their efforts
brought the two primal Gods to realize the truth of their
own Being, and rid them of the sense of doership. The
day these Gods first worshipped Arunachala is known as
the Mahasivaratri Day.
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Mother Uma covered Siva's eyes with her palms, and
the result was a huge deluge of the Worlds. Siva admonished
Uma for this untimely deluge, and ordered her to go into
the world to make amends for her action. So Uma did
penance here in Arunachalam under Rishi Gautama's
guidance. During this penance she encountered and killed
Mahishasura. On the full moon day of Karthikai, Siva blessed
her with the light of His Being. Uma went round the Hill
and obtained her rightful half in Siva; the `Karthikai' Festival
is held to commemorate this, when a huge concourse of
devotees gather from all parts of India to witness. The mere
sight of the Hill helps them control the fluctuations of their
thoughts (vritti); one-pointedly they are devoted to the
thought of Arunachala, go round the Hill, gaze at the Beacon
on its summit, and cry "Harohara to Annamalai!" The
millions of voices must indeed be heard even in the heavens,
while here down below people are blessed with entry into
their ecstatic being.
Rishi Bhringi would not worship the diverse
manifestations of Maya here and would contemplate only
the Absolute Being Himself. As he was emaciated for want
of the grace of Divine Power (Sakti), Siva blessed him
with a third leg to support himself on. He is said to have
pierced the male-female (ardhanariswara) form of Siva
and to have gone round Siva alone. Siva granted Liberation
to this Sage, and Parvati was angry at this slight. It is in
commemoration of this event that the grand Tiruvudal
Festival is held; the darsan of Arunachala on that day is a
sight fit for Gods to see with joy.
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Of the great Five Establishments (Panchabhutasthala)
Arunachalam stands at the very centre; of the Six Support
places (sadadhara) Arunachalam is the navel; of the Four
Places that give Liberation (Muktisthala), Arunachalam
has the reputation of granting deliverance at the very
thought of it. It has all the requirements of Form,
Pilgrimage and Place -- the attributes of a perfect place
for giving Liberation.
In the first Age (krta) its form was fire; in the Second
(treta) it was emerald; in the Third (dwapara), gold; and
in this last (Kali) age it is seen in earthy form. In this holy
place was the seat of the kingdom of King Ballala, whose
one delight was never to say "No" to anyone who sought
anything from him. Arunachala came in the form of a
Child and played in this King's lap, and the Lord said that
as the King had no progeny He would Himself perform
his annual ceremonies (sraddha [?]) for all eternity. Even today
there is a festival to commemorate this fact every year.
The Hill here is considered the very Form of
Arunachala. Many have gone clockwise round the Hill
and obtained great powers (siddhi [?]) -- gods, sages, kings,
and many beings of the lower kingdoms; it is said that
groups of Perfect Ones (siddhas) are eternally going round
Arunachalam.
The Lord Himself goes round the Hill with His
Consort twice a year.
On the eight cardinal points round the Hill there are
eight lingas and eight nandis (stone bulls) with their holy
waters. Round the Hill there are 360 sacred waters (of
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which only a few are now visible), such as the Indra Tirtha,
Agni Tirtha, Isanya Tirtha and Khadga Tirtha; the Brahma Tirtha
and Sivaganga are inside the great Temple of
Arunachaleswara, and the Mulaipal Thirtha is some way
up the Hill.
Like the gigantic forms and constructions of the
Temple, the Vehicles (vahanas) are equally huge and
imposing; so too are the beautifully decked deities that
ride on them. It is rare to find such grand processions
elsewhere.
Sri Jnanasambandar and Sri Vageesa, two of the
Saivite Saints have visited this spot and sung of Arunachala
and Uma; five of their Hymns on Arunachala are found
in the Tevaram, and the world famous Tiruvembavai of
Manickavachakar was first sung near Adi-Annamalai
Temple behind the Arunachala Hill.
It was here also that the great Arunagirinathar with
his grand experience of the Self (jnananubhuti) flourished
and spread the glory of Lord Subramania by his
Tiruppugal songs. It was here that he triumphed over
Sambandandan, the worshipper of Uma, and here he
obtained darshan of Lord Subramania for King
Prabuddhadevaraya; in commemoration of the latter
event we have the Shrines of Kambattu Ilayanar and
Gopurathu Ilayanar in the great Temple.
"Arunachalam attracts those firm in wisdom (jnana [?])";
this is the glory He has earned by the gift of His Grace. In
accordance with this fame of His, many are the great
souls who have been drawn to Arunachalam, among whom
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only a few are Guhanamasivaya, Gurunamasivaya,
Isanyadesika, Seshadriswamy, and Ramana Maharshi. They
came here from far off places, and rejecting all spots on
the way chose to live and merge in Arunachalam, the
Primal Being. This very thought uplifts our mind towards
the ever-present Arunachalam.