Overview
Aruṇācaleśvara at Tiruvannamalai is among the largest temple complexes of Tamil Nadu, standing at the foot of Aruṇācala — the hill the tradition worships as Śiva himself. Its Kārttikai Deepam beacon, lit on the hill each year, draws lakhs of pilgrims, and hundreds of thousands walk the 14-km girivalam around the hill on full-moon nights. The temple is administered under the Tamil Nadu HR&CE Department.
4 sources
- Purāṇa Skanda Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa — Aruṇācala Māhātmya
- Official Tamil Nadu Tourism (Government of Tamil Nadu) — Arunachaleswarar and Karthigai Deepam pages
- Official Tiruvannamalai district portal (tiruvannamalai.nic.in) — Girivalam and places pages
- Official Tamil Nadu HR&CE — Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Temple record (TM020343)
Sthala Purāṇa tradition
The Aruṇācala Māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa tells of Śiva manifesting as an endless column of fire whose crest and base Brahmā and Viṣṇu could not find; at their prayer the blazing column abided as the Aruṇācala hill, so that the mountain itself is the liṅga, and the Lord of the temple below bears its name.
1 source
- Purāṇa Skanda Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa — Aruṇācala Māhātmya
Festivals
Kārttikai Deepam
The ten-day Kārttikai Brahmotsavam culminates on the full-moon day, when the Mahādeepam is lit on the hill at about 6:00 PM — a fire visible for kilometres, drawing lakhs of pilgrims.
1 source
- Official Tiruvannamalai district portal (tiruvannamalai.nic.in) — Girivalam and places pages
Full HR&CE festival calendar to follow once the temple's pages (geo-blocked from the build environment) can be read.
Visiting verified
- Darshan Hours pending
- The HR&CE temple site (annamalaiyar.hrce.tn.gov.in) is geo-blocked from the build environment; darshan hours will be added once read from the official pages.
- Girivalam
- The girivalam path around Aruṇācala is 14 km (8.5 miles); on full-moon days and festival days hundreds of thousands of devotees circumambulate the hill.✓ verified 2026-08-01 · official source
Official
- Administration
- Administered under the Tamil Nadu HR&CE Department — temple record TM020343.✓ verified 2026-08-01 · official source
- Website
- https://annamalaiyar.hrce.tn.gov.in/✓ verified 2026-08-01 · official source
Book darshan, pooja or donations only through the verified official channel above. MandirPal links to no other channel.
Map
Related in the knowledge graph
Enshrines
- Deity
Shiva
Śiva
Located on
- Sacred Mountain
Arunachala
Aruṇācala
Celebrates
- Festival
Karthigai Deepam
Kārttikai Dīpam
Stop on pilgrimage
- Pilgrimage
Girivalam — the circumambulation of Arunachala
Girivalam (Aruṇācala pradakṣiṇā)Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu
Companion resources from our family
Arunachala Samudra ↗
A site on Sri Ramana Maharshi's teachings — self-enquiry, meditation and silence, and on Arunachala, maintained by MandirPal's founding family.
A companion site from the family behind MandirPal.
Where traditions differ, MandirPal shows each view with its sources and declares none of them absolute. Sacred narrative is labelled as tradition, history as documented evidence. Timings and rules change, so confirm with the official temple channel before you travel.