About Arunachaleshwar Temple Tiruvannamalai :
Sri Arunachaleswarar is the deity of this glorious temple. He is adored by several inspiring names such as Sonachaleswara, Arunagiriswarar, Vedamurthi, Annamalaiyar and also Bhaktavashankar. This temple is the *fire* representation of Lord Shiva. It is believed that the sanctum sanctorum is very hot, even though the temperature outside may be freezing, trying to bring to light the fire factor in the Bhuteshwar, Lord Shiva. Sri Unnamalai, resides in the massive temple as His consort. Tiruvannamalai, is in Tamil Nadu.It dates from 11th century and is situated at the foothills in Tiruvannamalai. It has four large gopurams one at each cardinal point with the eastern one rising to 66m. During the Karthigai Deepam festival devotees flock to the temple and to the ashram of the Saint Sri Ramana Maharshi which is 3 kms from the temple.This temple itself covers some 10 hectares and is one of the largest in India and was built mainly under the patronage of the Vijayanagara Kings. It is dedicated to Shiva as God incarnate of fire.The very thought of Thiruvannamali will bring salvation. The Sthalapuranam says that one can attain salvation by being born in Tiruvarur, by meeting with death in Kasi, by worshipping at Chidambaram and by mere thinking of Thiruvannamalai.Arunachala hill has a high status in our sacred tradition and Tamil legends hold that it is far more ancient than the Himalayas which are comparatively known to be of later origin. The temple occupies an extent of about 25 acres of land and is one of the biggest in South India.